Vagabond
by anime animal
Summary: With their relationship meaning more to them that they had ever thought it would, Link and Zelda find themselves in a momentary state of calm that can't possibly last... A tale of adventure, treachery, love and loyalty.
1. Prologue

I have a little treat for you, seeing as I've finished my coursework and am in an exceptionally good mood. This is the prologue for one of the fics that has been going through my mind like a bushfire at the moment, and has been the source of many doodles and imaginary conversations between characters in my head. (The voices are talking to me again, be afraid!)

Now to business. Er herm.

Disclaimer: The original characters in this story (of whom there will be many) belong to Lucinda Hill and come from that mushy grey place between her ears. The wonderful characters who you're all familiar with belong to Shigeru Miyamoto, the God of Gaming. 

This is a totally different Hyrule to the one included in the Endeffera saga. Totally different. And this story is a lot more grown up than Endeffera and Hyrule Tournament, more like some aspects of Heroes of Hyrule. I will be continuing this story after Endeffera has been finished, which with a little luck it will be soon. Only if this preview generates enough interest though...

Vagabond

by anime animal

Prologue

He was being followed, that much was obvious.

The rain slapped against his cloak, its impermeability rendered useless due to the unrelenting downpour and making absolutely no positive effect on the state of his dryness. Soaked to the bone was soaked to the bone, cloak or no cloak.

_I can't stop though, not until I'm somewhere that they can't come after me._

He swallowed hard and kept running, his heart hammering against his chest painfully. Every muscle in his body screamed at him to stop, but rest was a luxury he could not afford. 

_Damn damn damn._

He cursed inwardly at his stupidity. Anyone could have seen that they'd soon figure out that he was gone, and they must have sensed that something was afoot which was why all the horses had been left unshod. Over this sort of terrain, a shoeless horse was totally useless. They had known that he'd run, they knew that it was her only chance. And because it was her only chance, he _had to do it. Even though he was scared, even though he was alone and nowhere near strong enough to make a difference he __would help her._

That was if he could get away from these idiots.

******

Arran stretched his long legs out and put his mud encrusted boots on the top of the table. He sighed leisurely and looked around his surroundings with an air of satisfaction.

"Y'know sweetie, if my boss saw you like this then I'd lose my job."

He smiled at the pretty young barmaid and winked.

"Ah, but you know that you wouldn't. You're the only good thing about this place, Pella."

She blushed a rosy pink colour to the roots of her red-gold hair.

"Arran, you are nothing but a hopeless flatterer." 

He took her hand and kissed it softly.

"Only where flattery is due, beautiful."

Her blush deepened in tone until she was called over to another table. Arran watched her leave and smiled satisfactorily to himself.

"I believe that this evening's about to get interesting."

"Oh please, do you always think of women as sexual conquests?" a small, shrill voice asked.

Arran rolled his eyes and deliberately ignored the speaker, turning instead to the other man at the table.

"Do you think that you can get that fairy to shut up?"

Without looking up, his companion shook his head.

"Maybe if you showed her some respect..."

Arran snorted in disgust.

"Gimme a break man, since when do we show _it _respect?"

The fairy's aura turned from pale blue to red.

"_It happens to be __your advanced warning system bud, so don't start with me."_

"Cool it firefly, you might burn your bulb out. With a bit of luck."

Before the fairy could think of an appropriate reply, the door to the tavern flew open with a loud thud.

"Which one of you lowlife scum answers to the name of Arran?"

The landlord made to pacify the newcomer but was interrupted by Arran standing up.

"I'm Arran."

His companion rolled his eyes in disbelief at his friend's stupidity. Clearly when allotting blessings to people, the gods had forgotten to issue brains to the man in addition to his looks.

The newcomer was a huge man with a thick, ruddy beard and a chest like a barrel. Arran's dark eyes flickered nervously to the man's enormous hands.

"_You've been sniffing around my wife."_

Arran maintained his composure while swallowing a lump the size of a Cucco's egg.

"I have?"

"Here we go again," the fairy whispered, perching on Arran's friend's head. "Maybe you wanna step in and sort this out before it gets ugly."

He shook his head lightly  .

"He needs to learn a lesson."

"Again?"

"Again."

Arran was starting to look particularly uncomfortable with the situation and was well aware that all eyes were on him and the bear he was confronted with.

"I'm sure there's been some sort of misunderstanding..."

"I'm sure there hasn't been."

He swung for the wiry younger man and his fist connected with his jaw with a mighty smack that caused even the fairy to wince. Arran's head shot backwards before he straightened himself up again, rubbing his jaw with his eyes sparkling full of mischevious intent.

"Well you sure punch like a man," he said slowly. "It's a pity that you can't do other things like a man, at least according to Susa."

"You dirty son of a-"

"Uh uh, there are ladies present," Arran teased.

Both spectating fairy and man sighed.

"Three, two, one..." the fairy muttered.

"I'll teach you some manners!" the irate husband roared, pulling a knife from his belt.

He lunged towards the unsuspecting Arran, only to be stopped when something cold and sharp pressed itself against his throat. 

"Do you really think that you should be doing that?" 

He found himself staring into the hard blue eyes of Arran's companion who held a broadsword to his neck.

"Put the knife away. He's a dirty bastard, I'll give you that, but killing him lowers you to something worse than him. Take this outside and without weapons if you have to take some kind of retribution for his act."

"Who are you to interfere?"

The older man growled and continued to advance forward. The blade of the sword pressed more firmly against his flesh.

"I'll not tell you again." The swordsman's voice had developed a harsher tone. "Put the knife away or take up your problems with me."

It wasn't the man's sword that made him change his mind, it was the uncompromising look of severity that filled his entire face. He dropped the knife on the floor.

"Thank you. You can go ahead and hit him now if you like."

Arran shook his head wildly before the man's fist once again connected with his face.

******

"Man, you suck." Arran pressed his fingertips against the swelling over his left eye and winced again. "You totally suck."

"It serves you right for sleeping with that man's wife," the fairy quipped in a singsong voice.

"Bite me Navi."

The fairy poked a miniscule tongue out at him and flittered out of his reach as he swung at her.

"Can't you do something about her?"

He was met with silence from his friend who rode ahead of him.

"Aw geez Link, you're not still mad at me?"

Again, he was confronted with a mute wall.

"I coulda taken that guy you know, if I had my sword with me I coulda-"

"Holy Farore Arran do you ever shut up?" Link snapped. "Every town we come to it's the same thing. We settle in, get along with people, almost get accepted and then _you damn well go and spoil things by sleeping with some buxom tart wearing a gold band on her left hand! When are you going to grow up?"_

Arran glared at his friend's back.

"Well excuse me for having urges, I'm only a man after all."

"You want to satisfy yourself? Then find a brothel."

Navi responded with an impressed 'ooh' and then sat on her partner's right shoulder.

"You know I agree with you about the hormone driven idiot but don't you think that you're being a little bit too harsh?"

Link looked at his longtime partner from the corner of his eye.

"He needs to wake up and take a long hard look at himself. We can't keep getting kicked out of towns because he can't keep his snake in his trousers."

"Perhaps it's a good thing," Navi said softly.

"What?"

"How many years has it been since we went home?"

A pregnant pause fell between them as Link stared ahead.

"It's been sixteen years Link."

"We _can't go back."___

Navi fell silent and flew to sit on Epona's forelock, glancing over her bare shoulder at the man she had spent most of her life with. He was barely recognisable from the ten year old she had first encountered all those years ago, and it wasn't just the added height, the deep voice and the disgarding of his Kokiri clothing. She knew too well why it was.

The Hylian had left Hyrule, but Hyrule was still very much within him and he mourned for it. He longed to return to the land of his birth; to run through the wooded glades of the Kokiri Forest, to swim in the crystal waters of Lake Hylia, to race Epona across Hyrule Field and feel the wind flowing through hishair.

But as long as Phineas held something that was wrongfully his, Link knew that he could never go home.

Never.

******

Navi: Yay, you put me in it! 

A.A *grumbles*: Alas.

Link: OK, I'm thoroughly confused. Why am I hanging around in bars with the fairy fiend and a bigger player than me?

A.A: Because you're in exile.

Link: I am?

A.A: Yes.

Link: Why?

A.A:... Um...

Navi: Ha, she doesn't know!

A.A: She, I mean I, do to. I'm just saving that part for later.

Link: Yeah, but why is the fairy there?

A.A: Later sweetie, later.

Link: And who is it that's running away and why?

A.A: Later.

Link: And who's this Arran bloke?

A.A: Ah well, he's your travelling partner/best friend...

Link: But _Zelda is my best friend._

A.A: ...Who you met on your travels. He's thirty-one and year younger than you...

Link: Woah wait, I'm _thirty two?!_

Navi *looking up from anime animal's doodle pad full of character designs*: And you have a beard.

Link: I WHAT?!

A.A: Sexy Aragorn stubble, I promise.

Link: Yeah but...

Navi: Ooh, who's this Phineas you mentioned? 

A.A: Well, if people want to find out, then they can review and ask me to continue.

Link: Oh brother, she's using this tactic again...

A.A: Yes I am. And they're going to reveiw cause they want to know who Phineas is, and I'm not going to say until the first chapter. Heh heh heh.


	2. Ariad

Disclaimer: Legend of Zelda isn't my property. Damn and blast.

A.N: Woah, blimey that prologue got more attention than I thought it would. Phew. Well ladies and gents, your reaction to my latest venture has left me flabbergasted and I couldn't wait to finish this first chapter, which if anything is even more confusing than the first but hey!

Thanks very much to my little sister Ella for helping me out with a tricky spot. This is a monumental achievement on her part, as she is one of the evil minority that a) dislikes Zelda (not as much as she lets on, I think) and b) thinks that fanfiction is a waste of time. Still, trickery is a useful technique when one needs help, and you can attribute the seeing-fire to her (you'll understand when you get there).

Finally, how is everyone finding the Wind Waker? You lucky things, I can't tell you how envious I am. I have to wait a whole _month_ until it comes out here! And even then, I can't expect to get it until at least June- unless I decide that I can't wait to be given it for my birthday ^_^

Oh well, enough with the prattle and one with the story.

Chapter 1: Ariad

It was raining again. 

Something about the rain had always saddened Malon. Ciro had died on a rainy day.

"Ma, is something wrong?"

Caron had been born on the same day.

Malon looked fondly at her flame haired daughter and shook her head.

"Nothing's up honey. I just... don't like the rain."

Caron cocked her head quizzically and shrugged. Everything about her was Malon, except for those hazel eyes. They were her father's. Maybe that was why Malon felt comfort whenever she saw her daughter's face. It was a way of keeping one of the men she'd loved close to her.

Ciro had come into her life a year after Link had left it. Shy, hopeless at sword skills and delicately thin with beautiful features, the young farmhand had introduced himself as Ingo's nephew and had instantly made an impression on Talon's daughter. He'd been gentle with everything, herself included, and it was this tenderness that she loved him for. They'd been married less than three months after they'd met, and Caron had been born nine months later. 

Ciro had died before he'd even seen her.

Malon had shot the crazed stallion that killed him as soon as she'd been able to get out of her labour bed. She remembered standing in the rain, tears streaming down her face as she flung the bow down onto the beast's corpse before falling to her knees in the mud, staring up at the heavens and wailing at the unfairness that the gods had thrown at her and her newborn child. Without that baby, she would never have found the will to get out of bed in the mornings.

"I'm going to the castle for a bit, don't worry about dinner. I'll get something in town."

As the fourteen year old headed to the door, Malon halted her instantly with firm, disapproving words.

"You _know what I think about that, Caron."_

"Ma," she protested, meeting the slate blue gaze of her mother. "You know what _I think about it. You can't stop me from going there."_

"I don't like you being with them. They're thieves and lowlifes who've done nothing but ruin this kingdom since the day they stepped foot in it."

"You shouldn't talk like that," Caron said nervously.

"I'll talk as I please," she replied. "There is only one person who should be sitting on the throne of Hyrule and Titus is not that person. I won't have you being friends with him."

Caron bit her lip and stormed out of the room.

"Malon, that's treason," Talon said quietly.

She hadn't noticed that her father had come into the room. 

"I know it is, but I can't help the way I feel about the boy."

"He's the son of the Queen, that makes him your king. If anyone heard you saying such things they'd..."

He trailed off and looked out at the rain.

"Why don't you like him? Titus I mean."

Malon sighed and moved away from the window.

"You know why."

"No, I don't know," Talon persisted. "And even if you do hate him, you shouldn't stop Caro seeing him. Think of it Mally, your little girl may be Queen of Hyrule one day."  

Malon looked over her father's head out of the window.

"That doesn't mean I have to like it." 

******

"Will you behave yourself this time?" Link asked, pausing before the door to glare at his companion.

Arran looked at the older man innocently with spread hands.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Link rolled his eyes and opened the door to the inn. After five days travelling, they had come to the tiny village of Ariad which was nestled in the mountains northwest of the Death Mountain Range. Even at this distance, Link felt the call of his homeland as strongly as it had done the first time he had ridden away at the age of eleven.

"Is he ever going to behave when you ask him to?" Navi asked quietly.

She was hidden in a small pocket on the inside of his cloak, her small blue head poking out of the top of the material.

"No, but I live in hope," he responded.

The inn was bustling and full of life. A log fire blazed in the fireplace and wandering minstrel was playing a wooden flute before, attracting a lot of attention. Drunken men cheered as they lounged in front of the heat listening to him, some with painted harlots draped over them and whispering sugar coated promises to them. Arran's eyes lit up at the sight of a pretty looking girl who carried a jug of ale to a table occupied by a group of four hooded men and he smiled.

"I'll see you in an hour-"

Link's hand clamped down on his arm.

"You move one step closer to that table and you'll be dismembered, and I mean it this time."

There was something about those men that Link did not like. For one, they were totally silent at the table, and secondly they were watching a small cloaked figure who was sitting alone in a dark corner, nursing a small tankard and constantly looking over in the direction of the group of men.

"Go get us some beer and I'll meet you at that table there."

Arran looked at him in distaste.

"I got the last round, remember?"

"You got us thrown out, _remember?"_

Arran walked away, muttering to himself as he approached the counter. Link tapped Navi's pocket.

"Keep an eye on him."

Navi giggled and did as she was bid.

"And _I will keep an eye on what's going on over there," Link said quietly, watching the group of hooded men._

******

_How could they have found me so quickly?_

His eyes flicked back and forth between the customers in the inn and the men at the table. They were not talking, which could only be a bad thing.

_They know I'm here. Damn it!_

His fists balled on the table before he took a calming sip of his ale. Gods that stuff tasted foul! He grimaced beneath the hood of his cloak but kept drinking.

Two men came into the inn, but their arrival went unnoticed by those inside. He watched them though, as the shorter brown haired man went to the bar while the taller man walked to a table, his left arm hidden under the folds of his cloak. There he sat, quietly watching the scene by the fire. Presently, his companion returned and the two sat talking between themselves.

_Who are those two?_

He watched them as warily as the others, particularly when he sensed that the first man was constantly watching him. He frowned.

_I hate being watched._

One of the men from the larger group got up and began to walk towards his table. He tensed and moved his hand to his belt where a small dagger was suspended. His sword hung hidden in a scabbard on his back underneath his cloak. It was not the sort of weapon that he could carry without attracting more than a large amount of unwanted attention.

"Good evening lad," the newcomer said, taking a seat opposite him.

He noticed that the tall man in the corner was watching the proceedings with renewed interest. Saying nothing to his unwanted companion's question, he took another sip from his tankard and did a better job at hiding his grimace this time.

"My friends and I have a little wager amongst ourselves, we were wondering if you'd be good enough to settle it for us."

Again, he said nothing. The man's features morphed into a frown as the cheerful smile evaporated.

"Too good to talk to me, eh? Well I suppose that answers my question."

His remark went unanswered again, shattering what little patience there was left within him.

"Stuck up little brat, you're not in Aratea anymore, there's no-one here for you to hide behind."

This time, the boy reacted by narrowing his eyes before taking another long sip, never once breaking eye contact.

"Damn it boy, don't toy with me!" 

He reached out and grabbed him by the collar, knocking his tankard flying. The amber liquid spilt over the table and trickled onto the floorboards as the pewter vessel hit the wall. The hubbub of the inn hushed to dull and uneasy silence.

"'Ere, what's goin' on?" the innkeeper asked testily from behind the bar. "What'd the kid do?"

The other men from the party rose from their seats and surrounded their comrade.

"This boy is a fugitive from the duchy of Aratea, and we are under strict orders to return him," the man holding the unfortunate teen snapped, "dead or alive."

He could barely keep the smirk from his lips as his captive's eyes widened in horror. The innkeeper however, was less than impressed by the hunter's mission objective.

"There ain't gonna be no killin' in my inn sirs," he said angrily, "nor no violence neither."

The hunter shrugged and then knocked his captive's knife from his hands with ease.

"What's this? A concealed weapon? I suppose this makes your death an act of self-defence on my part."

Link slammed his palms down on the surface of the table with a loud thud. Instantaneously, the attention flew from the four men to the blonde man in the corner.

"Didn't you hear what our host said?" he demanded icily. 

The hunter spat on the floor.

"Mind your own business, dog."

Arran leant back against the wall and closed his eyes, an amused smile on his lips.

"That man is a walking corpse."

Link failed to respond, though Navi futilely stifled her giggle.

"By insulting me you have just made it my business," Link persisted, stepping out from behind the table. "I suggest that you and I settle this matter outside."

The hunter's six companions glowered at the swordsman while the man who kept his firm grasp on his captive's collar evaluated his new opponent sceptically.

"Alright then," he replied, thrusting the boy at one of his cohorts. "It would be my pleasure."

Link's expression remained the same, although the fairy perched on his shoulder could see the small sparkle in his eyes. She knew and loved that sparkle.

"Yeah guys, don't forget that when my buddy beats your sorry behinds into the ground you gotta let the kid go," Arran commented helpfully.

Link stopped himself from rolling his eyes. Barely.

"Those are your terms?" the hunter asked. "Well alright then, let's take this outside."

"You give your word that he will be released upon your defeat?" Link asked.

Nodding, the hunter gestured for his men to follow them with their captive being firmly grasped by one of them, though he struggled profusely.

Arran drained the rest of his goblet before joining the rest of the company on their journey outside.

"Is your friend mad?" one of the barmaids asked. "That man is Captain Wrel, the head of Lord Dezauras' personal guard!"

Arran shrugged.

"Sometimes, I find myself asking the exact same question."

******

Wrel's body hit the exterior wall of the inn with a thud following Link's boot's connection with his back. His breath escaped with a loud 'oof' as he crashed against the masonry, accompanied by a loud cheer from the assembled crowd who had followed the duellists outside. He drew himself up off the ground, breathing heavily as he glared at his adversary.

"You're pretty good for a dog."

Link shrugged.

"I wish I could say the same for you, but then again I was brought up under the impression that lying was wrong."

He neatly sidestepped as the irate man charged at him with his sword aimed for his belly. Spinning on his heel, he slid his sword from its sheath at his hip and effortlessly defended as Wrel's sword flew towards his right arm.

"What is your interest in that boy?" Link demanded.

"It is of no concern to you. I answer only to Lord Dezauras."

Link narrowed his eyes before yet again blocking a feeble strike from Wrel.

"The Queen's lapdog? I must say I'm unimpressed."

"Your insolence will see you arrested."

Link laughed dangerously and sent the captain's sword flying from his grasp with a fierce riposte. He planted his boot firmly on the blade and glared at his defeated opponent.

"You're beaten, now let the boy go."

Wrel spat on the ground.

"I gave my word. Release him."

His men tensed upon his approach, and it was then that their prisoner seized his opportunity to escape. With a grunt of effort, his thrust his elbow into his captor's unprotected belly that caused the man to double over and release him. Before any man could make a move however, they were halted in their tracks by the voice of their commander.

"I gave my word, I won't have anyone saying that I'm not a man to keep it. Let the brat go."

"But sir-" one of them began.

"You can do me a favour and arrest _him _for me," he snapped, gesturing at Link.

"No they won't," Link said dryly. "We fought an honest duel because I had been insulted. I could have killed you if I felt like it but by my mercy I have decided to let you live. Don't present me with the opportunity to regret my decision."

Wrel could tell by the look in the man's eyes that he was presented by with someone who could very easily dispatch not only himself but also all of his men without even breaking a sweat.

"Now, I intend to let you go about your business if you'll let me go by mine. Good evening gentlemen."

With that, he turned and went back into the inn, the crowd parting for him as he went. Arran shrugged and followed his companion, shooting Wrel and his men a triumphant look as he did. Navi sat herself comfortably on his shoulder and proceeded to poke her tongue out at the defeated captain, not that he could see it.

"Sir, by your leave I'll go in and retrieve the troublemakers," one of the soldiers barked.

Wrel shook his head.

"No, let them alone. They'll get what's coming to them."

"But sir-" interceded another.

"That is what we are going to do," Wrel said firmly. "We ride for home now, I feel as though Lord Dezauras should be alerted to this."

"What about the boy?" asked the receiver of the youth's elbow. "I thought our instructions were to capture him and bring him to Dezauras."

"He's done what he set out to accomplish, we can pretty much bank on the fact that he'll be heading back to Aratea, accompanied by our new friend. I don't think that his lordship will be unimpressed with what we have to tell him."

******

"Y'know, I don't think I'm ever gonna get bored hanging around you," Arran commented as he reoccupied his seat opposite Link. 

Link shrugged.

"He had it coming to him, his attitude was irritating me."

Arran laughed wholeheartedly and banged the table with his tankard.

"Gods, remind me never to piss you off!"

"You already do," Navi commented.

"Yeah yeah, up yours," he grumbled.

"Um, excuse me?"

The potential rift between man and fairy stopped before it even started as both looked up and blinked twice in the presence of the hooded boy. Link turned his head vigilantly in the boy's direction, saying nothing.

"I wanted to thank you for getting rid of Wrel and his men, I don't know how I can repay your kindness."

His spoke with a well educated voice that carried an air of nobility about it, although it was by no means condescending.

Link shrugged.

"I don't want repaying, I just don't like it when innocents get picked on."

"Oh."

The boy looked slightly crestfallen and then tried a different approach.

"To tell you the truth sir, I need help."

"What sort of help?" Arran asked warily. "Would we get paid for this help?"

Navi glared at him and slapped his nose.

"Would you get your mind off money and women for just one minute? Geez..."

The boy looked confused.

"Well, I suppose that I could offer you payment. How much would you require?"

"Pay no attention to him, he's a moron," Navi commented, sitting down in front of him on the table.

The boy noticed the fairy for the first time and stared in disbelief.

"A fairy? But you're a Kokiri fairy, wh- what are you doing so far north of Hyrule?"

Link raised an eyebrow in surprise, but said nothing. Navi seemed fairly pleased about being the center of attention and grinned.

"Let's just say that I'm a girl of experience who likes to get out and see the world, and lemme tell you it's a heck of a lot more interesting than hanging around the forest for eternity."

Arran returned his attention to his beer.

"So what is it you want us for, kid?"

The boy looked uncomfortable, and it was then that Link decided to act.

"Arran, Navi, go and see about getting us some rooms for the night."

"Oh but-"

"Now, please."

Link's tone was not one to be argued with, so reluctantly the pair left, Arran grumbling under his breath until he noticed that the innkeeper's daughter was a very pretty young girl. The boy watched him anxiously.

"Don't worry about him, he's harmless. Now, what is it that I can do for you?"

The boy took Arran's vacated chair and stared long and hard at the man opposite. His hair was long to his shoulders and was a vibrant shade of straw blonde, untouched by the silver of age. He was muscular and well toned, with tanned skin and a scruffy beard a little darker than the hair on his head. There seemed to be a dangerous edge to him in the way he had so easily defeated Wrel, but at the same time there was something about him buried deep without those harsh blue eyes that inspired trust. He took a deep breath and sighed.

"Can I trust you?"

Link cocked his head to one side.

"I don't make it a habit to double cross someone if that's what you mean."

He leant back against the chair, watching the youth with some interest.

"What's your name?"

"What's yours?" the boy countered.

Link's lips quirked upwards in a bemused smirk.

"Fair enough. You can call me Link."

The boy nodded and cast back his hood apprehensively, exposing a head full of golden blonde hair that fell haphazardly over the boy's face and into a pair of bottomless crystal blue eyes. Lines of anxiety formed at his brow, as if the loss of his hood left him unprotected.

"My name is Conran, and I need your help."

Link folded his arms across his chest.

"Who are you running from?"

"I'm not running from anyone!" he replied indignantly. "I'm just, well, it doesn't matter."

Link chuckled softly under his breath.

"If you're not running from something then I'm a Deku Scrub."

Conran said nothing and looked at his lap.

"Listen kid, I'm not about to hand you in because I don't know anything about you apart from your name and I'm also not very fond of those bastards that were picking on you. You have to have faith in me, I can't help you if I don't have your trust."

One of Conran's eyebrows arched quizzically.

"What do you have against Wrel and his men?"

"Wrel hunh?" Link muttered. "There's a name I remember. So that piece of scum wormed his way to the top? Well well well."

"You deliberately avoided my question," Conran pursued.

"Let's just say that I've had more than one sense of humour failure with his boss, and I despise anyone that the Queen of Hyrule likes."

"That makes two of us."

"I guess that makes us allies," Link smiled, offering the boy his hand.

Conran felt assured by the warmth of the smile and shook the older man's hand.

"I suppose it does, mister Link. I nee-"

"Listen, it's just Link, OK? Nothing before it, nothing after it."

"Well OK," Conran began warily, "if you say so. I need you to help me get home, Dezauras has sent men to follow me since I left. I can't escape them, they're going to get hold of me sooner or later and when they do..."

He glanced anxiously at the door as it slammed shut with the arrival of a new customer. Satisfied that it was not one of Wrel's men, he turned his attention back to Link.

"I can't protect myself, and what I have to deliver is too important to be lost, it is influential to the future prosperity of Hyrule. I have to take it to Aratea-"

Link's eyes narrowed.

"Aratea, eh? And what possible interest does Aratea have in Hyrule's future? That country destroyed Hyrule's chance at happiness long before you were ever born, kid."

Conran sat frozen in his seat for a moment, amazed at Link's sudden reaction and slightly alarmed by it as well.

"I can't tell you," he said apologetically. "I don't even understand it myself, but all I know is that I have accomplished what I set out to do and now that I have it's going to be twice as easy for Dezauras to get his hands on... the object in question, than if he had gone after it himself. My life doesn't matter, but it's imperative that the article gets to the Duchess of Aratea and no-one else."

He watched Link's reaction thoughtfully as the man sipped from his tankard, his eyes closed in thought.

"Please, you're the only hope I have of succeeding." 

Link remained silent for so long that Conran feared his companion had fallen asleep. The silence did not last long, as the brown haired man sat down angrily in one of the spare chairs, the fairy following jubilantly behind him.

"I told you so."

"Don't you ever get tired of being right? Gods, I don't know why you're not frog bait by now."

"Just drop it pipsqueak, I'm not in the mood."

Upon seeing the boy's expression, Navi faltered for a moment before settling on his shoulder.

"Don't mind him, the inn keeper's daughter just told him where to get off."

"Shut up," Arran grumbled. "So what where you two so heavily locked in conversation about?"

Link opened one eye and looked from Arran to Conran.

"Well guys, it seems that we're off to Aratea."

******

"...And you are quite certain that it was him?"

"Yes my lord."

Lord Dezauras lounged on his couch, staring into the transparent fire that burned in a torch set in the center of his personal chambers. Within the flickering flames of the mystical fire hovered the image of Wrel, who looked tired and nervous at the appearance of his commander.

"Yet you let him escape," Dezauras growled slowly.

Wrel nervously wrung his hands.

"Well, it wasn't exactly a question of letting him escape. He seems to have picked up some sort of... body guard."

"Bodyguard?"

Dezauras arched a black eyebrow cynically.

"Yes sir, an extremely competent swordsman. He bested all my men and-"

"You had better not be lying to me Wrel, I can sense when a man is lying to me."

This statement did nothing to reassure the captain. Dezauras sighed.

"Do you know whether he found the will?"

Wrel nodded.

"Yes sir, we have reason to believe that he has."

Dezauras smiled and sat up, reaching for a silver pitcher of whine.

"Indeed?"

"Certainly sir. Do you intend to tell His Majesty?"

Dezauras shook his head.

"There is no need for him to know."

"And the Queen?"

"Nor her. We shall bide our time and let the boy do all the work for us. Now, tell me more about this swordsman..."

******

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

The following morning had dawned cold, the sun's rays had not yet painted the indigo sky with its blood red streaks when the small party set off. Conran sat silently on a little bay mare at the back of the group beside Arran on his tall grey gelding, who was looking decidedly worse for wear and was complaining vehemently to the boy about being woken up so early.

"It's not about it being a good idea or a bad idea Navi, it has to be done," Link replied quietly.

"Yes, but Aratea? You _know _what you'll find there, are you sure you're ready for that?" the fairy persisted, perching on his shoulder.

"I'm a big boy now, it's about time I stopped getting chased by my demons."

"You decide to act like a man after sixteen years?"

"Fifteen years Navi, fifteen," he snapped. 

_But closer to sixteen with every day that passes._

The fairy sighed and lay down on her front, resting her weight on her elbows and her chin in her hands.

"Did you find anymore out about the kid after I went to sleep?" she yawned.

Link shook his head.

"No."

"He's tighter about his past than you are," Navi smirked.

The warrior chose not to grace her remark with a response.

"Still, he looks an awful lot like-"

"I know," Link interrupted. "I already noticed."

_It's the first thing that struck me._

He glanced over his shoulder at Arran and Conran.

"Come on boys, we've got a lot of distance to cover before nightfall."

He urged Epona into a trot and then a canter, sighing as he took in the fresh, mountain air. 

"Nightfall," Arran muttered, "a good twelve hours in the saddle. Why in Nayru's name didn't I stay in bed?"

Conran smiled.

"Sounds fun, what's our route?"

Link smiled.

"First stop: Kingsnoad."

"Kingsnoad?" Arran groaned. "Oh you bastard, you just had to plot our route through there didn't you?"

Link laughed heartily. It was a sound that Conran decided he liked.

*******

Navi: Way to insert your house name!

A.A: Come on, I've been coming up with so much original stuff I needed a break.

Link: OK, you've now thoroughly confused me. What the hell is going on?

A.A: To truly understand that, you'd have to invade my brain.

Link: R-i-g-h-t. But you still haven't answered my question.

A.A: Which was-?

Link: Why am I in exile?!

Navi: I sense that we're going to find out _very soon_.

Link: And who the hell is Phineas and what has he stolen?

A.A: He hasn't stolen anything. It was given to him and you're pissed off about it.

Link: Yes, but you said that it was _'wrongfully' _his, so why would it not be stolen if it was wrongfully his.

A.A: Perhaps it was because he was given something by someone who didn't have the right to give it to him.

Link and Navi: ...?

A.A: Well, the only way any one's gonna find out is by reviewing and getting me to continue!


	3. Kingsnoad

Disclaimer: anime animal sadly announces that she has no power over the Zelda universe. In fact, she has no power over any universe except these ones that she writes about, so there.

A.N: OK, reading the reviews for this has made me smile an awful lot. I won't say why, but you'll probably all figure it out before _too _long. Anyways, there are a couple of things that I want to clear up.

1. This is not A/U. This is post Ocarina, post Majora and Oracle series if you (like me) believe them to take place in the Ocarina timeline, some time after Link defeated Majora (just ignore the Triforce in the intro, but not Epona!). Link returned after the Oracles (if you take him as being fourteen then) and then left again- for good- at the age of sixteen. Everything else will explain itself, so bear with me!

2. 'What did Zelda do that was so bad?' I think someone asked. I said that Link disliked the Queen of Hyrule, I didn't say he didn't like _Zelda_...

3. 'Way to insert your housename!' My house is called Kingsnoad Farmhouse. And it's very nice.

4. Somebody is very, very warm with their suggestion for what happens next. Do you have a probe inside my head or something?

Chapter 2: Kingsnoad

King Titus was in a bad mood. He sat impatiently in the state room of Hyrule Castle, leaning on his elbow for fatigue of the situation with which he was presented. By his side, his tutor Mentes listened intently to the proceedings whilst watching the monarch from the corner of his eye. He shot the young king a disapproving look, which the sullen youth shrugged off disdainfully. When one of the ministers stood to issue his address, the elderly tutor leant over to his charge and whispered in his ear.

"Your Majesty, I suggest that you pay some attention to the events of this council, since some of the matters being addressed are of significant importance to the well-being of your kingdom."

He cringed under the piercing blood red gaze of the King. There was something in the boy's eyes that seemed to chill the aged teacher to his soul.

"Why should I? Dezauras handles this sort of thing, not me."

Mentes' attention turned to the king's advisor and tensed. Whenever in the presence of the King and his most powerful minister, he felt considerably ill at ease. He knew how much influence Dezauras held over the boy and his mother and was not comfortable with it, nor were the other nobles assembled. Queen Ruto of the Zoras and her husband seemed most dissatisfied with the proceedings, as were Chief Darunia of the Gorons and his son. The Gerudo Nabooru had spurned the King altogether by neither attending nor sending a representative.

The other races of Hyrule had been growing more and more uncomfortable with the present situation. Titus insulted each by never attending their functions nor offering any apology for his absence, and it was this lack of consideration that had led to Nabooru's absence at the meeting. Her people had never been totally at ease with being part of Hyrule at the conclusion of the unifying war, and were even less content with the succession of the Queen's week old son in accordance to King Harkinian's wishes. The Gerudo were legendary for their short tempers, but even they had been remarkably patient in waiting for courtesy from the King. Eventually, they had grown tired of the wait. It was only a matter of time before the other races followed suit.

If Titus remained this insolent, he would soon be presented with a civil war.

******

"Why doesn't Arran like Kingsnoad?" Conran asked Navi.

The group had stopped for the night and had pitched camp in small cave they had come across alongside the road. Link had taken his bow and gone in search of food whilst he had assigned Arran the task of getting hold of some firewood. Conran had been left to pitch camp.

The fairy shrugged.

"He likes it, but the thing is there's a troupe of gypsies who always visit there at this time of year, and he isn't exactly flavour of the month with them."

"What did he do?"

Navi took a sip from the acorn cup full of water she had been offered earlier.

"You'll find out when we get there."

She looked up at the boy curiously.

"So what about you? What's your story?"

Conran turned his face to the mouth of the cave, staring out towards the starlight.

"It's as Link said, every man should be entitled to have his own secrets."

"Ah, so you're taking a leaf from his book. Well lemme tell you kid, it might seem like a good idea to do that but at the end of the day it's not. He was happier when he didn't have all these secrets than he ever has been with them."

"Why is he the way he is?" Conran asked inquisitively. "I mean, if he was so happy being open about everything then what changed?"

Navi sighed and put down her cup.

"I wish I could answer that, I really do, but I respect Link too much to betray his trust. If he wants you to know, he'll tell you."

She shivered slightly in the cold.

"Gods, it's freezing! Where is that moron with the firewood?"

"You can climb into my pocket if you want," Conran offered, aware of her attempt to change the subject. "You'll be warmer there than out in the open."

Navi beamed graciously and flew into his pocket.

"You're a real gentleman, unlike some people."

Arran stood in the mouth of the cave with an armful of firewood and frowned at the fairy's comment.

"Yeah, I'm no gentleman but do I look like I care? Ungrateful firefly..."

Conran smirked and got to his feet to help Arran with his load.

"Can I help you?"

Arran regarded the boy strangely for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, that'd be great."

He deposited half the load in the boy's arms and walked with him to the place they'd decided to lay the fire.

"So how old are you kid?"

"Hey, I'm not a kid OK? I'm fifteen," Conran said curtly. 

"That's still pretty much a kid in my book, Con."

Conran was about to reprimand him for abbreviating his name, but changed his mind. It did not sound quite so absurd as he had first thought.

"How long have you known Link for?" he asked, changing direction.

Arran smiled.

"He saved my life. Some day I plan on returning the favour, but it seems I keep getting further into his debt."

Conran laughed.

"Why is it that neither of you got married? I mean, you obviously like women..."

The elder man faced the mouth of the cave before looking back at the youth.

"Yeah I like women, but to get married and settle down with a family you have to love a woman. I fell in love once, but she's beyond my reach now."

"What about Link?"

"I think it's none of your business to probe into that part of his life," Navi commented dryly.

Both Conran and Arran looked at the small fairy in surprise. She hovered above their heads, her aura somewhat purple as it began to turn to red.

"I'm sorry," Conran said quietly. "I didn't..."

"Are you two hungry?" 

Link's voice came from the entrance to their shelter. He carried a small buck over his shoulder and threw it down at his companions' feet.

"We spend the night here and head for Kingsnoad at dawn. We should reach there around late afternoon and get supplies together."

Arran sighed as he took his skinning knife from its sheath in his belt.

"Man, do we have to get supplies from there?"

Link shot him a withering look.

"We are going to Kingsnoad. I told Esperanza that we'd be there so I could take Phoenix and Peony off her hands."

"Phoenix and Peony?" Conran asked.

"My horses," Link elaborated. "Epona's offspring. We can hand your rented horse onto someone to send back and then you can take Peony, considering the landscape we'll be going over she'd be the best for the journey. Esperanza's been taking care of them for me until I could get hold of some land."

"Which you haven't," Arran commented, "which means we have no reason to visit Esperanza at all."

"Esperanza is?" 

"The devil's handmaiden," Arran sighed. "One of the most sour women I have ever met."

Conran turned to Link for the inevitable difference of opinion.

"She's a good woman," he argued, "and she's been more than kind to both of us in the past, Arran in particular though he doesn't care to acknowledge it."

Arran snorted.

******

"This should never have happened," Queen Ruto grumbled as she and Darunia walked through Hyule Field.

The evening was warm with a pleasantly cooling breeze, which had prompted to two rulers to return to their homes on foot. A fair distance behind them, Link of the Gorons and Ruto's husband Zoraq talked pleasantly whilst the two Sages were locked heavily in conversation.

"It wouldn't have if Dezauras hadn't been around," Darunia replied. "I hold the same reservations about him as I did and still do for Ganondorf."

"He has none of the power," Ruto said, shaking her head. "If he had, he would have killed Titus as a baby and that would have been the end of it. No, he has to have some ace up his sleeve that he's just waiting to play."

"I still say that he wants Hyrule for himself. The boy is nothing but his puppet, everyone can see that except for the puppet himself."

"If that is the case then why," the Zora pondered, "did he get rid of the Princess?"

******

"The child deserves better," Esperanza said quietly. "You and I both know that my love, so why are you fighting me on this?"

Farrago looked from his wife to the small group of girls who were assembled outside. While the number of gypsy girls was small, a large crowd of Kingsnoad villagers were gathered around them, watching as the three teenagers whirled and spun as they moved to the music of Finn the piper's reed pipe. All three were dark haired and bare limbed, their bright skirts swirling above their calves and their coloured glass bangles chiming rhythmically with each step. The majority of the audience were clapping to the beat of the tune as the girls danced, whistling and cheering with delight at each colourful move.  There was one girl that Esperanza's husband did not see, and he was not surprised by her absence in the least.

"If she made more of an effort..."

Esperanza rolled her eyes and flashed her husband a meaningful glance.

"She is fast becoming a woman and fast gaining more and more likeness to Imelza in more than just her looks. I don't think that we are doing what's best for her, and I promised Mel that I would."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Farrago asked. "She's fifteen, I would not leave a child of that age alone no matter how mature and independent she was."

Esperanza raised a dark eyebrow and folded her tanned arms across her ample chest.

"If I clip her wings then she'll plummet and fall like my sister and I will not let that happen. Imelza should have been whatever she wanted, but because of our father she was never allowed to follow her dreams. I don't want that for Tarrah."

She sighed and drew the curtains on the spectacle of the dancing girls.

******

Impa sat at the great oak table with her arms folded across her chest.

"Insult or no insult Nabooru, refusing to turn up will not solve anything."

The Gerudo woman turned to face her long time friend and slammed both her fists before her on the wooden surface.

"I am no whore Impa," she growled. "I do not need to hear such things being said about me or my people, especially not by some snotty nosed brat, King or otherwise."

"Hyrule is ill at ease as it is," the Sheikah soothed, "we both know that. You don't help the situation by displaying your legendary obstinacy."

Nabooru sighed.

"Why the hell didn't Zelda fight for it? I just don't understand why she gave up the way she did. I tell you, if she'd only taken the throne and not that hell spawn punk then we'd be having none of this trouble."

"Be fair Nabooru, Titus is not wholly to blame. We all know that it's that snake Dezauras who does more harm than the boy."

The Gerudo shrugged and sat on the edge of the table.

"Anyway, what news of the Duchess? Has her envoy got hold of the will yet?"

"I have not her from her in quite some time, I can only assume that everything is going according to plan."

"Who did she send?"

"I believe that she sent my nephew Dayne, though I'm not certain. If she did, then we have nothing to fear, he will get the job done."

"I'm more concerned about Dezauras sending Wrel out," Nabooru commented. "He knows what we're trying to do, and he's not happy, and I don't like to think what'll happen if he messes with our plans. Days like these, one can't help but wish that things had never changed."

"I know how you feel."

Nabooru drummed her fingers on the table.

"The eight defenders of Hyrule and the Sacred Realm, bound together by friendship and the heavens. Now look at us; no Hero of Time, no Sage of Wisdom... we're sorry excuses for guardians, I must say."

Impa nodded.

"But you forget my friend that we do exist, and we are strong together, and we will be again." 

******

Kingsnoad, a usually peaceful and quiet place, was alive and bursting with colour as the popular gypsy troupe performed with extravagance for their delighted audience. 

"Show offs," Arran grumbled.

Navi innocently yanked one of the hairs from his temple and with satisfaction listened to the accompanying yelp.

The small company rode into the village as the sun began to glow gold as it set behind the western mountains, bathing the white walled houses with a golden glow. Conran took in the scene in silence, enjoying the view, particularly when it included a very attractive looking inn with a sign declaring  'rooms for hire.' His muscles ached, he felt caked with dirt and was anxious for a good bath and a soft bed in which to sleep. The tinkling sound of merry laughter met his ears from his left, and he turned his direction to a trio of dancing girls and ashamedly felt his jaw drop at the sight of them.

"You're gawking," Link commented dryly at his right.

Conran snapped to attention immediately, his cheeks stained pink in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't be!" Arran laughed. "The kid's fifteen Link, he's got hormones that are very demanding."

Link's midnight blue gaze settled on the boy for a moment before a feminine voice called out warmly to them in greeting.

"You took your time getting here!"

"Tarrah!" Navi cried, flying towards a skinny looking girl who was running towards them.

Conran found himself staring again, but not for the same reason as he had been staring at the trio of dancing girls. For a start, this girl was dressed in the tan coloured breeches and sleeveless white shirt of a boy, secondly she sported no jewellery save a pair of thin silver hoops in her ears and thirdly, she had the most amazingly green eyes Conran had ever seen. They were immense in their size, emerald green in colour and shaped in such a way that they almost resembled a cat's. Her hair was jet black and was loosely tied in a ponytail that fell to just below her shoulder blades.

"We had a few errands to run," Link explained.

Tarrah turned her attention to the three men, examining Conran thoroughly before her lips quirked upwards in a small, unimpressed smile.

"How lovely to see you, Daddy dearest," she muttered dryly.

******

Link: You didn't.

A.A: Didn't what?

Link: You wouldn't.

A.A: I haven't the foggiest idea what you're talking about.

Link: Please tell me that as well as being in exile, running errands for secretive teenagers and keeping company with Navi and that Arran guy that I don't also have a catlike gypsy for a daughter.

A.A: Mmm...

Link: Gah! I don't understand anything in this world!

Navi: And we still don't know who Phineas is...

Link: Don't get me started! What did Dezauras do to Zelda? And why is Hyrule is being run by a Hylian Dilandau!

A.A: Hmm, funny that isn't it?

Link: What's going on?

A.A: So, I have my first A-S exam on Monday and-

Link: I hate you.


	4. Kingsnoad same day

Disclaimer: Legend of Zelda doesn't belong to me. 

A.N. Momentous occasion folks, this is Sirius' first chapter! Hooray! Round of applause for Sirius the shiny new laptop!

In other news: Lucinda Hill and Lucy McGill (otherwise known as Migs) spent over seven hours in London on Monday for one reason and one reason only. It also involved me sitting on a lump of chewing gum and getting dehydrated but it was totally worth it. Because…

*Beams* we met ORLANDO BLOOM!!! (cue screaming)

OK so not in an intimate gathering, and there were several hundred rabid fangirls there too, but now I can say I have actually talked to Orlando 'hunka hunka burning man flesh' Bloom in person and not in my dreams.

And yes girls, he *is* just as fine in real life, if not finer.

So understandably, I am a little bit happy now.

Ooh, I need to go and write some mushy stuff!

But now, back to Vagabond.

Chapter 4: Kingsnoad- same day.

The cow chewed thoughtfully on the cud whilst Caron sat on her milking stool with a tin pail beneath the cow's udder. She hummed wearily to herself as she worked, a song instantly recognisable as that composed by her grandmother with the quality of soothing any animal. It was the only way she was able to get the cows to stand still for her when she wanted to milk them, other than that the beasts would never behave for her. She continued to tell both her doting grandfather and great-uncle that she was not suited to the life of a ranch girl, that she found it difficult and the work hurt her delicate hands. The only person who was not impressed by this routine was her mother, who would fold her arms across her chest and purse her lips into an unimpressed pout.

"You will pull your weight around here the way the rest of us do my girl, you're not a queen yet."

The memory of her mother's reprimand after she returned from the castle the other day caused Caron to frown and angrily pull at the unfortunate cow's udder so violently that the beast flinched. Malon had been furious and had doubled Caron's chores in retaliation for her disobedience. Of course, that was after she had given her a lecture on respect. 

Caron ground her teeth angrily. What right did her mother have to dictate her life to her? She liked Titus, liked his company and his conversation. There was something about him that was dangerous and thrilling, the way he'd render her immobile with a single intense look from his ruby eyes and the way he'd send shivers down her spine with the power he displayed when he spoke to his servants. She liked it.

Queen Caron of Hyrule had always sounded nice to her.

******

Tarrah sat glumly at the table in Esperanza's caravan, glaring across the table at Arran. All around there fell an awkward silence that Conran tried, as hard as he might, to break by complimenting Esperanza on her home. The gypsy woman responded to the praise humbly each time, yet the silence returned in abundance as she too would glare across the table at Arran.

"So my friends," Farago announced finally. "Where are you headed next?"

"Our final destination is Aratea," Link replied, "via Ord, Fentar and Izard Forest."

"That's a fairly roundabout route," Tam, Esperanza and Farago's eldest son commented. "You'd get there quicker cutting through Hyrule and going south through the Forbidden Forest."

"Under normal circumstances, I would," Link lied. "But if we went towards the _Kokiri_Forest, then we'd be going far too close to enemy territory for my liking."

"Enemy territory?" Farago asked. "Link, you're not going against Hyrule itself are you? You know how stupid that is."

"It's not Hyrule anymore, and it hasn't been for a long time," Link said quietly.

Conran looked at Link quizzically from the corner of his eye.

"It's probably a good thing they aren't," Tarrah grumbled. "My darling father would probably end up screwing half the Gerudo Valley."

"Tarrah, that's enough," Esperanza suggested gently.

Arran put his glass down on the table.

"Funny how kids have no respect for their elders and betters these days, isn't it?"

"Better? You? Don't make me laugh," Tarrah snapped. "How are you better than me, you man whore!"

"Tarrah!"

Arran's lips disappeared into a thin line.

"Is there anything else you want to say about me while we're here?" he asked his daughter. "Maybe you want to comment on the way I dress or perhaps how I walk. Come to think about it, really tell me what you think. Don't hold back, put your mind at ease."

Tarrah threw her chair back angrily against the wall, shooting daggers at her father through the furious emerald eyes.

"I hate you," she growled, storming from the caravan in a fury.

The group sat in silence for a further few minutes. Link glanced across at Arran disapprovingly.

"What?" he asked in ignorance. "The girl has a stick up her ass that could have easily been extracted, and we all know why it's still there, don't we?"

Esperanza glared in a manner reminiscent of her niece's.

"You certainly had nothing to do with presenting an alternative opinion of yourself to her."

"Mother, please," Tam said quietly.

Conran tried to stop staring at the exchange and felt more and more uncomfortable with each passing moment.

"I think," Link said unexpectedly, "that it would be a good idea for me to introduce Conran to Peony."

"Yes, I agree," Farago agreed a little too eagerly. "She and Phoenix are in the corral."

Conran got up perhaps a little too quickly and once again thanked Esperanza for the meal before beating a hasty retreat behind Navi.

******

Dezauras regarded the woman beside him thoughtfully. Bedecked in jewels and expensive silks, she looked every inch the regal and beautiful queen that Hyrule had come to expect considering its past. 

Looks had the ability to be deceptive.

Many complained that she had none of the reserve and elegance of her aunt, the former queen Thalia, and that she held far too much of the arrogance and haughtiness of her mother Aglaia, the late queen's elder sister. After the death of Queen Thalia three days after her daughter's birth, the pressure had been upon the king to remarry and produce the male heir that Hyrule so demanded. Indeed, the queen's younger sister Euphrosyne had been waiting in the wings for such a position to fall to her, yet an unforeseen dilemma arose in the presence of the infant princess.

Princess Zelda had been placed in the rather unfortunate position of being not only incredibly beautiful but also gifted with charm and a staggeringly astute and keen mind. Hyrule fell in love with the princess as they had done with her mother. For sixteen years, Zelda was the most powerful female in Hyrule.

Dezauras had come to the castle at the age of twenty and had been immediately impressed and intimidated by Harkinian's fifteen year old daughter. Seeking to have her as an ally he had first set about attempting to make friends with the girl, then made noises about an interest in offering his suit for her hand.

Zelda had wanted none of that, and by that stage had made her dislike publicly known in the royal court. The camps were now divided into those that favoured the king's daughter and those who followed Dezauras. The minister had decided to act.

If Zelda would not be wed to him, then she had to be removed from the ascension equation altogether.

"What are you thinking about?" Sibella asked, linking her silk clad arm with his.

Dezauras returned his attention to the queen with a wan smile.

"Your step-daughter."

Sibella allowed her arm to slip soundlessly from the minister's in much the same way that her smile vacated her face.

"I trust that your thoughts of her were pleasant," she remarked scathingly.

"As pleasant as they can be when one thinks of _her_."

The queen was about to reply when a fanfare of trumpets heralded the appearance of the king. Dezauras breathed an unseen sigh of relief at the young monarch's timely intervention. Sibella had served her purpose sufficiently at first, an attractive bauble to ornament the King's arm and a loyal supporter of Dezauras' cause, openly bestowing her favours upon him when in court and openly receiving the contempt of Princess Zelda's followers. To them she not nearly so wise, not nearly so charming and not nearly as beautiful as Harkinian's daughter, and at thirty five she displayed nowhere near the sufficient amount of wisdom to be credible to one of her years. Dezauras supposed that was probably a blessing, had she been more perceptive then perhaps things would not be as they were currently.

Titus gestured at the minister impatiently and as usual Dezauras obeyed the boy's command. Had the boy king been anyone else's son, he might not have been so tolerant.

******

Peony tossed her red head and regarded the boy before her quizzically through her liquid brown eyes, her ears pricked.

"She looks like her mother," Conran commented, fondling her velvet soft muzzle while she puffed hot air into his hands.

Link smiled proudly and patted Phoenix's shoulder. The younger stallion butted his nose against his master's shoulder before nibbling on the hair at his neck.

"It's a good thing that she hasn't got her temper," Navi remarked.

Epona snorted from her place beside her daughter and shook her head, eliciting a small laugh from Link.

"Navi and Epona have had a few incidents in the past. She's just angry because Epona goes too fast for her to keep up with."

"Hmph!" Navi huffed.

"But she is right when she says that Peony hasn't Epona's temperament. She has nicer manners to strangers, but she's a lot more obedient once you've earned her trust."

Conran looked at the older man curiously.

"She's just a horse-"

"That's right, she's a horse. A _real _horse, not one of these dumb beasts bred for anyone to take for pleasure rides around nicely laid tracks," Link interrupted. "There's no skill found in that sort of riding, no skill at all. You have to earn her trust absolutely, otherwise she's not going to show you what she can really do. She's not as obvious as Epona with regards to who she likes and dislikes, but we're not going to get anywhere near Aratea unless you show her that you are a friend, and we've got a lot of tough terrain to cover. How can you trust a horse if they don't trust you?"

Conran felt very sheepish under Link's scrupulous gaze and turned his attention back to the little chestnut mare. Meanwhile, Link's gaze shifted to the caravan where Esperanza had stormed out, her face like a thundercloud.

"I'm going to leave you to get acquainted with her. Get her used to you, I'll get you on her back tomorrow."

Without waiting for Conran to protest, he went to their hostess and began to speak with her. Conran swallowed nervously and turned back to Peony, his attention on her and her alone.

"Um, hello there Peony," he began apprehensively, "I'm Conran. I think you're very beautiful..."

He trailed off as Peony stopped grazing and stared at him.

"Well, you are. I like girls with red hair, and yours is as red as it comes. Actually, it's not quite as red as a Gerudo's but-"

"What the Hell are you doing?"

Tarrah's bemused voice brought a bright red flush of embarrassment to Conran's cheeks. He brought his gaze to hers and was once again struck to the intensity of her emerald eyes.

"Link said that I had to get her trust and..." He stopped when he found that her amused expression had not shifted. "Sounds stupid, huh?"

Tarrah shook her ebony head.

"That's not stupid, your conversation was."

Conran felt an angry flush at being so openly mocked.

"Well what would you do?" he demanded a little too tersely for courtesy.

She smiled infuriatingly smugly and walked lightly over to Phoenix. Conran knew that the stallion was high strung, he was a youngster of five and seemed particularly unwelcoming when he had tried to pat him.

"Hey boy, did you miss me?" Tarrah asked, ignoring Conran and turning her attention solely to the horse. "I brought you something."

She revealed a quarter of an apple hidden in her hand and offered it graciously to the stallion, who greedily devoured the titbit. Tarrah laughed softly and tickled his bottom lip.

"I thought that you might like that. What'd ya say you and me go for a gallop tomorrow morning, hmm?"

Phoenix pushed his muzzle against her hand for more apple and breathed against the bottom of her shirt, blowing the fine fabric away from her body to briefly reveal the girl's navel. Conran felt himself begin to flush again, though he assured himself that it was due to his embarrassment at being shown up by a girl.

"You try," she suggested, tossing another apple quarter at him as she dug a third from her pocket and offered it to Epona.

Peony whinnied softly in demand for her treat and tried to steal Epona's. Conran clicked his tongue to get her attention and then offered the apple to her.

"Here you go girl, sorry not to give it you earlier but the crazy lady wouldn't give it to me. That's good isn't it?"

Tarrah laughed at his insult.

"Sorry, I guess I'm a little edgy at the moment. I always get like this whenever my father comes to visit. That and I'm jealous."

"Jealous?"

She nodded and played with a loose strand of hair.

"What I wouldn't give to go with you on your quest thing," she sighed. "Anything's gotta be better than hanging around here."

Conran shrugged.

"I don't know, it's going be pretty dangerous. See, I've got these people tailing me-"

"You killed someone?" Tarrah asked a little too brightly for the question.

Conran chuckled.

"No, I've just got something very important to deliver that a lot of people would prefer for me not to."

"You'll be fine, Link's with you."

She said it so brightly and with such confidence that Conran was surprised. At their first encounter, she'd rendered him speechless with her sarcastic greeting to her father, who he'd assumed to be Link. For a split second, in the dead silence following her comment, he'd been expecting the blonde man to reprimand her until Arran had shocked him with his retort.

"You look well dear heart."

It had been a surprisingly tender reply to so rude a greeting and had totally shocked Tarrah. Shortly afterwards Esperanza and her family had appeared to greet them whilst Tarrah had stood with her arms folded tightly across her chest, glaring at Arran with contempt.

"You have a lot of confidence in him," Conran commented. "Why?"

Tarrah smiled.

"'Cause he's Link. As long as he's on your side, nothing can possibly harm you."

Her companion still looked confused, which caused Tarrah to roll her eyes.

"Haven't you seen him fight yet? He's never lost, no-one can beat him, not even my uncle and he's the best fighter in the troupe!"

She smiled.

"And he's the sort of guy who'd risk everything to make sure that no-one in his care got hurt." 

A sour expression crossed her face.

"That's the only reason my father's lasted this long."

******

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't let him get to me like that," Esperanza apologised.

Link made no comment and shrugged.

"He winds everyone up, don't take it personally."

The gypsy woman laughed merrily, momentarily losing her tension.

"Oh my friend, we have missed you," she remarked, patting his shoulder. "You always seem to know how to resolve any argument peacefully."

"I'm not sure, just ask Arran what happened last time I resolved an argument."

Esperanza tensed.

"Why won't he give up this foolish charade? I don't like the man he is now, all these meaningless women, it just isn't healthy."

"It's his way of coping," Link replied slowly. "I don't think that it helps, but then again I've never lost someone I- well, I've never lost what he did."

He paused and sighed.

"Tarrah looks more like Imelza every time I see her."

Esperanza smiled.

"She resembles her in more than looks alone." There was a dark edge to her voice that Link couldn't fail but pick up on.

"And you're afraid that-"

"More than anything!" Esperanza cried. "Oh Link, I wish to the Gods that I could give her the life that Imelza wanted for her. She hates this life so, and I couldn't bear to lose her, not after losing Mel. And I think that if such a thing were to happen then it _would_ destroy Arran."

Link nodded.

"What if she came with us? Maybe then we could kill two birds with one stone. We're headed to Aratea, perhaps if all went smoothly Arran could get hold of some property and they could start anew and live like they should do."

Esperanza glanced across at him sceptically.

"And you?"

"I'd carry on living the way I always have, it's the only way I know how," he replied, unable to meet the gypsy's eye.

******

Dawn rose on Kingsnoad the following day and was met with a small party packed up and ready to embark on their next destination- the small settlement of Ord. Along with Arran, Link and Conran, Tam had tacked up his own gelding, ready to lead the hired mare back to Ariad. Conran tried his best to stifle a yawn as he climbed into Peony's saddle whilst Arran made no such attempt.

"In the name of the three sisters Link, do we have to make so many of these damned dawn starts?"

Link ignored his comment and patted Epona's shoulder. He knew that by covering as much ground as possible during the hours of sunlight that it was less likely that they would be ambushed by any of Dezauras' men, and if they were he also knew that they stood a better chance of beating off attackers if they could see them.

And now there was the question of Tarrah…

The girl appeared from the direction of the corral, leading Phoenix by the bridle. The grin on her face beamed as brightly as the newly risen sun and intensified as she saw the rest of the group.

"Are we ready to go then?"

Arran's eyes widened in shock before he shot Link a questioning look.

"I didn't know Tarrah was coming," Con whispered to Navi, who had taken up a seat in front of him on the pommel of Peony's saddle.

"Me neither."

******

Dezauras made his excuses early and left the council room before noon, just as the rest of Titus' advisors were becoming animated. Normally he would not have missed such a spectacle for all sand in the desert but today found him in a curiously uneasy temper. He retreated to the sanctity of his chambers, frustrated by the events of the meeting.

Questions were being risen about the mystical Will again. Rumours had flown shortly after the king's death of a second Will that had been made which stated the complex matter of ascension, and now that the little worm had obtained possession of it, things were not looking pretty.

Dezauras was the only member of the council who had knowledge of the king's missing Will, in fact he alone knew of its definite existence. All of that was of little help when it came to the crunch. King Harkinian had been a shrewd man and taken precautions, making the Will in the presence of trusted and respected nobility whose loyalty he was assured of. Dezauras suspected that the contents of that elusive second Will were unlikely to cause him any reassurance, particularly when they would inevitably find themselves in the possession of the Duchess of Aratea.

He sighed and took his head in his hands, feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on.

"You summoned me, Lord Dezauras?"

The minister opened one eye and peeked through his fingers at the slender, red haired man before him.

"Graev, I am glad you have come. I have a request to ask of you."

The man bowed, his grey cloak pooling at his feet.

"Ask and it shall be done, sir."

"I shall be contacting that Wrel and sending him and his sorry force to Aratea to keep an eye on our friend the Duchess. I am concerned that she may well be receiving visitors who are going to be giving her something that I want."

Graev looked up, his coal black eyes blank in confusion.

"I fail to see what this has to do with me."

"I wish for you to intercept the Duchess' friends before they reach Aratea. They were last seen in Ariad, heading south towards Kingsnoad. It was easy enough for that useless Wrel to track them, I am sure that a man of your expertise should have no trouble finding them."

Graev bowed his head again.

"Your words do me a great honour, lord. Anything I should be aware of?"

Dezauras shrugged.

"There is a boy who travels with the group, a youth of fifteen years. He is my main concern, as he has the object of my pursuit on his person, a scroll containing King Harkinian's last Will and Testament. You are to obtain this scroll at all costs. According to Wrel the boy has come across a bodyguard of some sort, a swordsman with some skills to his name. I should imagine that this may be a little annoyance to you, yet I scarcely think he will be of any real hassle."

Graev stood, his eyes sparkling maliciously.

"And what should I do with them once the Will is in my possession?"

Dezauras smiled glibly.

"Why, kill them of course."

******

A.A: And as the plot thickens…

Link: I slowly but surely begin to lose any comprehension of what is going on in this story.

A.A: Which is what I'm aiming for- total confusion until the party gets to Aratea. Fanfic you knows what's going on, in fact he knows a lot more than he's letting on.

Link: Good for me, I mean him.

A.A: Do I detect sarcasm there?

Navi: Yes.

A.A: Now, can any of you guess who Phineas is yet?

Link: Screw Phineas, I want to know what it is about this Graev twerp that makes him think he can beat me!

A.A: Conceited today, aren't we?

Navi: No, he's always like this.

Link: Shut up! I have the Triforce of Courage on my side, who in their right mind is gonna tangle with me?

A.A and Navi: Graev.


	5. Ord

Disclaimer: Legend of Zelda is property of Nintendo. And you know it wouldn't be nearly as cool if someone else owned it, even if it was me. But I don't, so there.

A.N: I have no idea what's the matter with me, but I never intended to leave the story this long without an update. Holidays and stuff, I'm becoming unforgivably lazy.

Massive thanks to Venus, who's been on the receiving end of my _endless _queries about what to do here and there and just about everywhere. I honestly don't know where you find the patience! Oh, and if anyone is looking for a good fic at the mo, read her Briars Hurt for a Reason, which you'll find on my favourites. It's mucho coolio.

And today, of course, is results day. Big nerves at about nine o'clock this morning when my brother's A2 results came by phone- thank god he got his grades! A, B and D, so he's off to Oxford Brooks. And of course, I was waiting for my call and getting butterflies. But I never get nervous about these things, so that was bizarre. Needed a large cup of coffee. And then I took the initiative to call school myself.

Oh, incidentally: A B C C. Um, History of Art went the shape of a pear, but still… YAY! (A in Classical Civilisation! Yippee!)

Chapter 4: Ord

A misty morning greeted the people of Hyrule as dawn rose. Far to the north above the kingdom's borders, a small group of travellers were embarking on their journey as a hooded Sheikah woman made her way through the shadows of the morning to the Dodongo's cavern from her home in Kakariko Village. Already the day was shaping up to be another hot one, as Hyrule was trapped within the confines of a stifling summer- long sticky days, humid nights with only the occasional thunder storm to ease the discomfort. The mountains were cooler at least, even the Gerudo were finding the heat oppressive.

Like Titus.

Impa heard Darunia's booming voice inside the cavern long before she was able to see the Goron chief. 

"Impa! Impa my dear friend, I thought you were avoiding me!"

Darunia thundered into view and instantly took the Sheikah into his arms for a bear hug. Impa returned the gesture, eagerly patting the Goron's shoulder in the embrace.

"It has been too long my friend, but I haven't had the chance to get away. I'm being watched constantly, I was only just able to transport myself here without attracting any attention."

Darunia froze as they broke apart.

"You mean they've caught on?" he whispered urgently.

Impa nodded grimly.

"I fear that Dezauras may suspect. My sources tell me that Wrel's men were dispatched three weeks ago, and that the Harvester was seen the night before last riding out with six men in his company."

Darunia muttered an oath under his breath, clenching his vast fists into boulders.

"Then our cause is hopeless. No one stands a chance against Graev."

The Sheikah arched an eyebrow sceptically.

"No one? That's not like you Darunia, normally you're the first to suggest an opponent for him," she teased.

The Goron chief was oblivious to the jest.

"If only we could rely on him," he sighed sadly. "You know as well as I that he probably won't come back. Hyrule is no more his home than ours anymore, it is not the place to be anyone's home."

Impa nodded and put her hand on his shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"Which is why we have to fight to get it back, to get Link back. I know he's still alive, and he'll be back once he learns that we have need for him."

Darunia sighed and leant against the rocky wall of the cavern.

"But is he willing to rise to the Duchess' aid? That _is where Dezauras is sending his cronies isn't it? To Aratea?"_

"Unless they've tracked down Dayne," Impa argued. "But that would surprise me. He melts into the shadows too well, he wouldn't have drawn attention to himself."

"Link wouldn't go to Aratea if it was the last place on earth. We both know that," the Goron muttered stubbornly, ignoring his fellow Sage's attempt to change the subject.

"Well then, we'd better hope that he's lost some of his obstinacy with age."

Darunia shrugged.

"Have you had any letters from Aratea? What has she said?"

Impa shook her head and folded her arms across her chest.

"Nabooru asked me the same thing, and I must give you the same answer I gave her: nothing. Now that I've had time to think about it, it would make sense to deduce that Dezauras is watching the communication ports and is blocking any correspondence with her. He's shrewd, I'll give him that much."

"What we need is a gathering," Darunia grumbled. "The six of us in the Sacred Realm. That way we wouldn't have to worry about anyone overhearing. But-"

"-It doesn't seem right without them, does it?" Impa finished. "Though I agree with you there, I also agree that we _have to collaborate if we are to remove Titus-"_

"And Dezauras."

"_And _Dezauras, from the throne," Impa finished. "But they're not fools Darunia. Dezauras knows what we're capable of, even without the knowledge of our positions as Sages."

She sighed and sat on a boulder.

"I wish that Zelda was with still with us, we need her wisdom now more than ever."

******

"Bastard."

"Brat."

Conran glanced apprehensively behind him at the arguing father and daughter. Navi had wisely suggested they ride ahead once the verbal onslaught began, so now he found himself riding beside Link, trying very hard to ignore a noise that was proving impossible to be deaf to.

"Do they normally talk to each other like this?" he asked after the umpteenth insult.

"Always," both Navi and Link responded.

"But why?"  

Link sighed and batted a fly away from Epona's twitching shoulder.

"When Mel- Imelza- Tarrah's mother died, Arran fell to pieces. He couldn't raise Tarrah on his own so he left her with Esperanza, Imelza's older sister. He's been trying to find someone to fill the voice ever since, but no-one can ever come close to Mel."

"Which is why he has such loose morals," Navi finished. "He doesn't care anymore."

Conran glanced over his shoulder at Arran, who was now riding in silence looking at anything but Tarrah. There was a sadness in his eyes that Conran hadn't noticed before, a deep melancholy that reminded him of his mother's widowed friend.

And strangely, of his mother herself.

Peony tossed her neck prettily, bringing him out of his thoughts at he concentrated on the road ahead.

"How did she die?" he asked quietly.

Link swallowed hard and checked his girth while Navi answered the boy's question.

"She was killed by bandits when Tarrah was three," she replied quietly. "It devastated the troupe, they've never understood why it happened. The shock all but killed Imelza's father, he just wasted away with the grief."

"That's terrible," Conran breathed, glancing over his shoulder at Tarrah. 

"It was," Link agreed. "She was a wonderful person, she should never have died the way she did. At least the gutless bastards got what they deserved."

Conran did not feel the need to press further into their fate.

"So how much further until we get to Ord?" he asked.

"Another three hours at least. We're not stopping, though perhaps we might ask around for any news and stock up on any supplies."

"So why go through Ord at all?"

"It's the only river crossing for miles," Navi told him. "Plus we'll be able to pick up any information we might need."

"What sort of information?"

Phoenix trotted up beside his sister while Tarrah looked curiously in Link's direction.

"Information from Hyrule," Link informed her. "For some reason, Conran seems to have made an enemy of Dezauras, Queen Sibella's little stooge."

Navi giggled.

"I haven't," Conran replied, somewhat offended. "I just have something that he wants."

"Oh?" Tarrah breathed. "What's that then?"

"I don't really think-" Navi began.

"The lost Will of King Harkinian."

Link drew Epona to a halt and turned around in the saddle.

"What?"

Conran felt apprehensive at the tone of Link's voice, particularly when Arran had caught up and now the whole party was staring at him intently.

"The lost Will of King Harkinian," he repeated.

"Nayru, Farore and Din," Arran breathed. "You have got to be joking."

Tarrah stared wide eyed in disbelief at him, as if wondering what other secrets this shy boy had to him.

Link closed his eyes and exhaled gently.

"Well that explains a few things, and means that we may well have to rethink our route."

"Too right," Arran agreed. "Fentar's a thieves den, we can't afford to take something like that in there. Are you sure it's _really _the lost Will of-"

"Of course it is!" Conran snapped. "I've been away from my home for a month and a half looking for this, and I hardly think that I'd be duped by the sister of…"

He checked himself and shrugged, slipping a hand to the saddle bag that Link supposed contained his precious cargo.

"I _know _it's the real thing. The Duchess of Aratea would not have sent me on a wild goosechase."

"She certainly wouldn't," Link agreed. "Now if we're done interrogating here I suggest we carry on with our journey."

Navi flew over to sit on Link's saddle as Conran and Tarrah engaged in conversation.

"Are you alright?"

Link kept his eyes ahead.

"I'm fine. I only wish someone had told me about that Will, I could have saved Conran a lot of trouble by getting it myself."

"I wish you'd been told too," Navi admitted.

Her friend arched a sandy eyebrow quizzically.

"Elaborate."

"Well, it would have meant that you'd have kept in touch with everyone- which you haven't- and that we'd be doing something useful instead of drifting from place to place and living like vagabonds."

"Hm."

"And we'd probably be home right now," the fairy muttered.

Link stared at her harshly.

"Home is where the heart is," he replied dryly. 

The pair said nothing more for a time while Conran and Tarrah talked comfortably to one another behind them. Their animated conversation and cheerful manner towards one another reminded Navi of a time when another pair of teenagers used to spend their summer afternoons together, laughing and joking the way that normal, carefree youngsters so often do. The only catch had been that the two of them were far from normal.

"You miss her, don't you?"

Link ignored Navi's question pointedly and remained mute, only glancing back over his shoulder at the sound of Conran's laughter with a look that the fairy believed resembled mild envy.

******

Sibella was in a bad mood as she stormed through the corridors from the throne room to her chambers, and it had nothing to do with the equally rotten mood of her son.

Dezauras was preoccupied, and it was the Duchess of Aratea who was on his mind- again.

She'd heard whispers among the servants that the Duchess had somehow got hold of her late husband's last Will, or at least would have it very shortly. For some reason, this had put Dezauras into a foul temper, and whenever Dezauras was angry it would reflect upon the King. And when the King was angry…

The dowager Queen pushed open the doors to her room and flung herself dramatically onto her couch, producing her feathered fan and fluttering it at her breast to produce a breeze. She felt uncomfortably flustered by these regular bulletins she was picking up, and even more irritable when she learnt that the other races of Hyrule were all openly discussing this as-yet unconfirmed rumour. And supporting it.

Although her mother had not possessed the brains of her younger sister, Aglaia had been no fool and nor was her daughter. Sibella knew that this new Will would spell disaster for her and her son, as the last Will of a dead monarch was always respected over the present will of one living. She also knew that there would be no favour towards her or Titus in the document, towards the end Harkinian had grown to despise her and had not even risen from his sick bed to see her newborn son. His hand had never blessed the child, never touched him at all. It baffled the ministers, particularly when he had offered his blessings to the brat of the Queen's rival, the Duchess of Aratea. 

Sibella ground her teeth in agitation at the thought of her younger competition, and the motions of her fan increased in speed. The wonderful, beautiful Duchess of Aratea, whose conversation had sparkled, whose wit had dazzled, whose intimate and genuine friendship with the King in the last ten months of his life had left such a profound effect upon him and those in his closer circle that many were surprised that such a minor mention was given to her in the Will.

Only it wasn't such a minor mention, not in the King's _last Will. She and Dezauras had both known that, and they had been fearful of what the repercussions would have led to. At the time, both had made the mutual agreement that this new Will had to be disposed of before knowledge of it spread among the nobility, the tribes of Hyrule and of course, to the Duchess of Aratea herself. What they had not been able to rely on was the fact that King Harkinian had already seen to it that the Duchess not only knew about the new Will but had been present to witness it with one other person apart from the King._

And the Duchess alone was able to read it.

"My lady, might I trouble you for an audience?"

Sibella's heart leapt in her chest at the sound of Dezauras' voice and she crossed the room rapidly to answer the door.

"You know that you do not need to ask," she replied silkily as she admitted him to her rooms. "My door is always open to you."

Dezauras shrugged and sat himself upon one of the Queen's heavily upholstered chairs with little grace. 

"We have trouble," he remarked grimly.

Sibella folded her arms across her bust.

"When have we not had?"

"This time it's different," he snapped. "That meddlesome Sheikah woman has been communicating with the Gerudo whore and the Goron. And we can all guess what that means."

"They're up to something," Sibella observed. "Speaking of which, what have _you _been up to? I've been hearing some nasty rumours, plus the fact that I haven't seen Wrel for almost a month. A woman could entertain ideas…"

She reclaimed her seat on the couch and watched him through lowered eyebrows.

"Does your present temper have anything to do with my dear departed husband's Will?"

Dezauras sharply fixed an angry look in her direction.

"My dear sir," Sibella continued, "I am no fool. There is a reason why my family are renowned for their wisdom you know."

"Your _cousin_ is renowned for her wisdom, not you."

The Queen shrugged off his slight of her with a smile.

"Of course, our dear little Zelda. I was wondering when you'd bring her into the conversation, she always does appear whenever you speak to me. I wonder if you still lust after her even now."

A twisted smile claimed her lips, which she hid behind her smile.

"I know that it was her you thought of that night when you were with me."

Dezauras stood angrily.

"I told you that we are not to speak of that-"

Sibella laughed throatily and then raised herself from her seat to cross the room to him.

"I know, but sometimes I cannot help but speak of it, it is always on my mind" she murmured. "I'd have thought that knowledge would please you."

Dezauras met her dark brown eyes with a harsh glare of his black.

"You'd do well to remember your place," he growled, snatching her hands tightly in his. "Don't forget who it was that got you where you are today."

"I'd urge you to reconsider that remark," Sibella responded. "If I were you, I wouldn't forget whose position keeps you in yours."

For a moment the pair continued to glare icily at each other before Dezauras pulled the Queen into his arms and captured her lips harshly in his. A small smirk quirked the corner of her mouth upwards and remained long after the kiss had ended.

"You are a devious woman, Sibella."

"But of course," she agreed. "You are a marvellous teacher by example."

Dezauras kissed her hand and then turned to the door.

"If you hear anything about the Will then you are to come to me immediately."

"Certainly."

"And not one word of this is to reach the ears of the boy," he said urgently, meaning Titus.

"Who has it?" Sibella asked curiously. "The Will I mean."

Dezauras paused in the doorframe as he glanced over his shoulder.

"Who else? Harkinian's favourite ducal brat."

******

It was late afternoon when Link led his tired travellers to the river crossing at Ord. In spite of his haste, they arrived just in time to see the last crossing of the day embark across the broad, gushing river.

"Well that was a nice little piece of entertainment," Arran commented sarcastically. "Maybe now we get to see all our food eaten by a pack of Wolfos, or even better, let's just-"

"Shut up!" Navi and Tarrah snapped at the same time.

"Now what do we do?" Conran asked Link tentatively.

Link watched the ferry sceptically.

"I'd say that something's gone on here. Normally the ferry crosses until at least sundown, which is two hours away. It does not take two hours to cross and come back."

He shook his head and turned to his companions.

"OK, I'm going to wait here and see if we can persuade the ferryman to take us across before sunset. We might as well pick up some supplies seeing as we're already here."

"I'll go," Tarrah offered brightly as she dismounted.

"I'll help," Conran suggested.

The two teens made their way over to the stalls while Phoenix and Peony placidly cropped at the grass.

"He's sweet on her," Arran grumbled.

Link loosened Epona's girth and led her to the river to drink.

"Conran?"

"Certainly not you, otherwise I'd kick your ass," his friend replied.

Link looked across at the fruit market, where Tarrah was juggling with apples, much to the vexation of the stall keeper.

"He's just enjoying her company, it can't be easy for the boy having to hang out with us, we're twice his age at least."

"I think you're being paranoid," Navi remarked.

"Seriously Arran, I don't think that Conran has evil intentions on your daughter," Link reassured him. 

"How would you know? Damn it Link, you've not been with a woman as long as I've known you. How do I know you have any experience?"

A wry grin occupied Link's lips.

"You happen to be speaking to the man who was barred from Pelonnia for being caught in bed with the mayor's daughter."

What Link failed to mention was that she had been six years older than him and he had been very, very drunk.

Arran laughed.

"I'll have to remember that next time you have a go at me."

"I was _sixteen,_ you are _thirty one._"

"And look at me, I'm relaxed and very easy going. Want to know why? Lack of sexual frustration my friend, lack of sexual frustration."

Navi rolled her eyes as she sat on Link's shoulder.

"Oh please, I can't believe you're having a conversation about this."

"Yes, but can you say that it's worth it?" Link argued. "Do you feel any better after you've finished than you did before? Or do you still wish that it was Imelza beside you instead of some tart?"

Arran narrowed his eyes.

"Don't bring her into this. Please."

"Arran, you have to accept that she's gone and what you're doing is just-"

"Who the Hell are you to talk?" Arran snapped. "You don't know how it is because you've never lost someone you cared about! You'll never understand what it's like to wake up knowing that she's not going to be there next to you, so don't preach to me something you are clueless on!"

With that, he stalked off to the fruit stall.

"He'll cool off, he always does," Navi soothed, although her comment was ignored.

Link clenched his fists with his eyes closed.

"I do know," he whispered. "All too well."

******

Link: You seem to have this uncanny knack for never putting what people want to read into your updates.

Navi: By people, I don't suppose you mean _you?_

Link: Grr…

A.A: Heh heh, well I like to keep an element of suspense in my work.

Link: So let me guess. By the time this story is over, fanfic me will be ninety three, drooling into tapioca and being attended by an honour guard of dedicated fangirls.

Navi: Or he'll be happily married with two kids and a dog.

A.A: That's not very nice. Ruto will be offended.


	6. Fentar

Disclaimer: Legend of Zelda belongs to Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto. All original characters are mine, and if anyone takes them without asking me… (anime animal puts more lighter fuel into her flame thrower.)

A.N: Sorry for the delay! My brain has turned into mush, but it's not too bad now. Just wrote 2000+ on Edgar Allan Poe. Does anyone think that maybe that's the reason why Miyamoto-san called _Zelda ghosts Poes?_

Chapter 6: Fentar.

"I'm bored," Tarrah announced glumly. 

The party had set camp under a rocky outcrop a good day's ride from Fentar and sat exhausted by the campfire as the night truly set in. Link took watch on one of the higher rocks, surveying the roads and paths for any sign of an armed force. The ferryman at Ord had made mention of orders he had received from a Hylian soldier not to cross in the late afternoon as they were trying to hinder the progress of a party of criminals. The description had amused Link, who'd used every inch of his charm to get a quick crossing for them. The blue eyed innocence of the Kokiri boy he'd once been was somewhat nullified by the man's frame and beard, but he was still able to talk anyone round to anything.

Almost anyone, anyway.

Arran was still sulking as he stewed a pair of stringy rabbits in a pot over the fire. It was the best they'd been able to find in Ord, and none of them had felt inclined to hunt for their meal. Conran looked exhausted, Link noticed. Whoever the boy was, he was certainly not used to the life of a traveller. He was impressed, however, by the way that he handled Peony, who seemed to have developed a certain fondness for the teen and nickered softly whenever he approached. This relationship certainly impressed Tarrah, who adored the three chestnuts and couldn't bear to hear anyone speak poorly of them, which often led to Navi and her indulging in catty exchanges about Epona.

"Well we're not having a sing song around the camp fire," Navi retorted. "Link's tone deaf."

Link 'hmphed' a laugh and stoked the fire with a stick.

"What about legends?" 

The group looked at Arran in surprise.

"What?" Tarrah asked rudely.

"Well, Link might not be able to sing but he knows some far out tales," Arran explained.

Link felt the eyes of Tarrah and Conran on him and shook his head.

"Oh no, I'm not getting myself into this. I'll keep watch."

He scooped some stew into a bowl and went to sit away from the fire. Navi flew over and perched on his knee.

"I've got a tale to tell," Conran said before he drunk from his gourd. "It's a bit surreal though."

"Surreal is good," Tarrah commented.

"This story is the honest to Gods truth," Con mentioned. "Once there was a boy who was raised in the forests of Hyrule by the Kokiri-"

Link looked up in surprise, feeling as though something had hit him hard in the stomach and forced the air from his lungs.

"-It was there that the boy was introduced to his ultimate destiny and rose to become the Hero of Time."

The firelight cast Conran's face in a warm amber light, turning his hair to a deep gold colour while his eyes shone eagerly. His words flowed easily, as though he had been speaking them all his life. Link swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and listened to the story he knew all too well. All the while his eyes were fixed on Conran.

******

Graev knelt on the ground tracing his fingertips over the dirt before easing himself vertical and brushing the dried dirt on the face of his pants.

"They came this way in the last twelve hours. We're getting closer."

His six men laughed eagerly, as if unable to wait for the inevitable confrontation that they were faced with. Graev mounted his horse and spurred the beast onwards.

"Remember, we take the Will from the boy first, then we have our fun."

He licked his thin lips impatiently.

"But the swordsman is mine."

******

"What was Tarrah's mother like?" Conran asked quietly.

Tarrah was sleeping with her head cushioned on Phoenix's saddle, her raven hair falling like a curtain across her face. Arran had been unaware that he'd been watching her.

"Sorry?"

"I was wondering what Tarrah's mother was like," Conran repeated.

Arran was nursing a cup of hot water in his hands, water infused with some herbs he'd kept stowed in his knapsack to make a bitter tea. He stared into the translucent liquid and swirled it around the container for a while.

"Her name was Imelza," he said after taking a sip from his tea. "And I loved her. We were very young, too young, but that didn't mean that I loved her any less. I couldn't have been much older than you when we met."

Con was touched by the emotion in his voice.

"You know how you're always sceptical when someone tells you that when you fall in love it just hits you like a thunderbolt? Well, I got struck the moment I laid eyes on her. She was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. Green eyes that just came at you and these waves of black hair that was just… wow. And she could do _anything_, dance, sing you name it. Everyone who saw her fell in love with her, except Link but he doesn't count. Besides, we had Tarrah by then."

Unseen by Conran, Arran's fingers had tightened around the cup.

"They were great friends though, probably because Link didn't imagine himself in bed with her the way everyone else did. They seemed to be on the same wavelength, both of them were wise beyond their years, at least that's what Ereatha called them."

"Ereatha?"

"Mel's mother. She died before Tarrah came along."

"Oh."

"We were in another town, the troupe I mean, and Imelza as always had the crowd wowed the moment we rode in. But there was this guy, the mayor…" Arran's voice began to quiver. "He wanted her, and because we weren't married there was no lawful reason why he couldn't have her even though we had a child. And when she said no…"

Conran reached across to put a comforting hand on Arran's shoulder, which was immediately shaken off.

"When she said no, he wouldn't accept it. He said she'd be sorry, called her a witch for infatuating him so. He called down curses upon her, and upon me and Tarrah. Of course, he had no power to do any of that, but the witch thing…"

"You don't have to-"

"That bastard. He put a bounty on her head after we left, claiming she was a witch and was to be brought back to the village for trial for a five hundred rupee reward."

_The bandits,_ Conran thought.

"I asked her to marry me," Arran continued. "I was old enough to realise that she was all I ever wanted and that I'd never find better. We'd gone for a walk. We were ambushed and-"

Con could feel the anguish through Arran's choked tones and wished to the Gods that he'd stop talking, for both their sakes.

"I shouted loud enough so that Link and Farago and a few others came to investigate, but by the time they got there it was too late. I held her in my arms as she died and you know what? She said yes." He smiled bitterly. "Seems so trivial, doesn't it? That she'd waste her last breath on such a stupid word."

"I don't find it stupid," Conran murmured. "She loved you enough to let you know that you would have been her husband."

Arran slumped forward as he wrapped his arms around his knees.

"I nearly died that day too," he said quietly. "I went after them, of course I did. Stupid really, there were five of them. Killed one, wounded another but they'd have killed me if it hadn't been for him."

He glanced over at Link.

"He didn't know the whole story, and I sure as hell wasn't going to tell it to him. As it was we killed Imelza's killers, but I killed that son of a bitch that sent them after her. And I don't regret it to this day. But that won't stop the pain."

His body trembled, and Conran was terrified that the man would break down before him until Arran straightened his head and stood up, taking in a deep breath through his nose.

"Never, _never stop telling your lover that you love her," he said sternly. "You never know how much time you'll have, and when she's gone you'll never replace her."_

Beneath her blankets, Tarrah wiped a tear from her cheek.

******

_He lay there quietly, brushing her hair away from her face while she slept peacefully beside him, her body perfectly fitted to his arms. Smiling softly, he kissed the top of her head and waited for the tiny, secret smile that always claimed her beautiful face every time such a kiss was received. He was the only one who ever saw it._

_"I love you," he whispered._

_Her eyelids flickered before her immense eyes opened and stared up into his eyes._

_"I love you too," she murmured softly._

_He smiled and leant in for a more satisfying kiss from her, one she eagerly responded to. Her arms curled around his neck and gently toyed with the soft hair at his nape, sending shivers up his spine._

_"How long have I been asleep for?"_

_"Not long," he replied. "Couple of hours perhaps."_

_"That long?" she laughed. "You should have woken me earlier."_

_"But then I wouldn't have been able to see you sleeping," came the argument. "You look so peaceful, I just fall in love with you all over again."_

_She laughed again and propped herself up on her elbow._

_"I think you're turning into a romantic."_

_"I can afford to be when I'm with you."_

_"Gods, I hope you don't turn into a sap!"_

_He looked deeply contemplative for a while._

_"Oh I don't know. Depends how long I love you for."_

_She looked puzzled until he wrapped his arms around her waist and laid her on her back._

_"In case you were wondering how long that was going to be," he teased, kissing her throat. "I mean forever."_

_"Forever will never be long enough," she sighed._

He woke suddenly, hearing her name die on the wind as his whisper faded into the night. It was strange, but he never realised that he had said it.

"If only we'd had forever," he murmured quietly.

The others were still asleep in their bedrolls, and quite rightly so seeing that dawn was several hours off. Obviously he hadn't been asleep very long, the embers in the fire were still glowing.

_Why am I thinking about her so much?_ He asked himself. _And dreaming again._ I thought I was past that.__

It didn't take long to work out, as he found his gaze in the direction of Conran and Tarrah's bedrolls where her sleeping likeness lay.

******

Malon clicked her tongue to encourage the little dun gelding to trot on as their cart trundled along to Kakariko for the market. Caron sat glumly behind her in the back, idly braiding pieces of straw in her lap. 

"What do you say we go to Gerudo Valley after we're done here?" Malon offered. "I hear that Nabooru's found herself a new stallion."

"If you want," Caron replied.

Her mother glanced over her shoulder at the sombre girl and shrugged.

"Suit yourself," she murmured. 

Caron scowled at her mother's back and cast a longing look at the castle, glowing golden white in the afternoon sunlight. She hadn't seen Titus since for weeks and she missed his company. There weren't many kids her own age to socialise with, and those that were available were all total morons in her opinion. She listened to her mother's cheerful humming up front and rolled her eyes. The problem with her family, she conceded, was that they had no ambition, no drive. They were far too content with their meagre lot in life to possibly want more to it and the girl could not for the life of her work out why.

With Malon's looks and talent, she could have been a great singer or have been a great lady at court. Caron already thought that her mother was quite one of the most beautiful women in Hyrule though not in a classical way- Malon's grandmother had been a Gerudo, amounting to the red hair that both of her descendants shared. Caron was mildly irritated by this knowledge of her heritage, as it meant that surely she too would be fated to have only daughters as her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother before her had. Not a desired quality in one who wanted to be a queen.

Caron continued to brood over her thoughts as the little cart trundled into Kakariko whilst Malon pulled up next to the stall laden with milk, cheese, eggs and meat.

"You ladies took your sweet time getting here," Ingo grumbled.

"Crisis with the colts," Malon replied as she tied the gelding to a post. "Raffy got kicked pretty bad by Balu."

"Don't know why you don't just shoot the animal, it's got a mean streak just like-"

"Diablo," Malon whispered. 

Caron looked up at the mention of the stallion that had killed her father but as always said nothing.

"So, business slow this morning?" Malon asked cheerfully, putting all thought of the horse out of her head.

"Pretty much," Ingo replied as he preened his moustache. "I think that you're wanted in Impa's house though."

Malon's mouth formed a silent 'O' before she cut across the village to the Sheikah woman's home. Caron watched her go curiously.

"She's always going to see that Sheikah woman," she mumbled.

"Enough idle talk l'il missy," Ingo interceded. "I need some help round here if you hadn't noticed."

Caron sighed.

"Yes uncle Ingo."

As she helped Ingo put the unsold produce into the cart, her mind brooded over the many possibilities that could explain why her mother was yet again involved in conversation with the former Royal servant.

******

"We're broke," Arran announced glumly.

Conran looked alarmed whilst Navi merely sighed in amusement.

"What did you blow it all on now?"

"He didn't blow anything, we're a much larger group now than we were before," Link argued. "I thought this would happen."

"So how are we gonna pay for lodgings in Fentar?" Tarrah inquired. "We've got bad weather coming up, judging by those clouds.

"I'll pay," Conran offered. "After all, it is_ my fault that you've got a bigger party."_

Link shook his head.

"No way. Unless I'm very much mistaken you're a very rich young man and in Fentar, if people work out that you're a rich man then you're a poor dead man in the morning."

Conran gulped.

"You just keep out of sight and sound and we'll handle the finances. I told you I'd protect you until you get to Aratea and I'm not going back on my word."

The sky was bordering on pitch black by the time the five of them rode into Fentar, despite nightfall being a good four hours away and the ominous growl of thunder sounded not to far off in the distance. The village was nestled in the craggy rocky hillside as the mountain range began to slope away to the lowland. For many miles the view below stretched to the naked eye, a patchwork of fields below a vast dark mass of trees that formed Izard Forest and beyond that, the brighter green of the Kokiri Forest. Conran regarded it with awe in the partial darkness, uncertain as to be more appreciative of the stunning view or the glowing lights of the village that flickered their greeting to the tired band of travellers. After two days riding, it was a welcome sight.

"Arran, take Tarrah and get us some rooms for the night in the inn. We'll find somewhere for the horses."

"Why don't we keep them in the stables?" Con asked.

Link patted Epona's shoulder.

"Because Gus would be gone by morning," he said, indicating Arran's grey. "And I know that we'd get ripped off having to buy a new one. Epona'll take care of them."

The mare tossed her head in agreement.

By the time Link and Conran had settled the horses, the heavens had opened and rain fell down in solid sheets. The two hastened towards the inn, hoods pulled up over their heads to keep the majority of their bodies dry but failing dismally.

Arran had procured two rooms in the Dog and Bull in and had a table set aside with four pewter tankards. Tarrah sat opposite her father being uncharacteristically quiet and placid. 

"Good call about the weather, Tarrah," Link commented.

Dripping wet, Con eagerly sat beside her on the bench and took his tankard, hoping that it wasn't full of beer.

"Cider," Arran told him. "I know for a fact that Tarrah detests beer."

"Course I do," she agreed. "Tastes like piss."

"Nonsense," her father argued. "Tell her Con!"

"Well," he began shakily. "I think I prefer wine."

Navi laughed and sat down on the edge of the bread basket.

"I wish that there was enough nectar around for you to taste, that alcohol stuff you're on about wouldn't stand a chance."

"Neither would you if you had a pint," Arran argued.

Link reached for his tankard (of beer, he noted) and then paused as a woman made her entrance. The whole inn stilled at her presence and stared, Arran included.

It was a Gerudo.

As suddenly as the silence had come, the inn collapsed into whispers and hoarse murmurs until the woman strode across to the bar and ordered a goblet of wine. Thunder rumbled over head. Link said nothing as his eyes followed her around the room.

_Why was there a Gerudo so far north?_

Suddenly the tawny eyes of the desert woman landed on Link and narrowed as though she was evaluating a new weapon, examining it for flaws. Her eyes made a quick downwards glance at the table and widened as they rested upon Navi. Taking her goblet from the counter, she strode across the room to their table.

"What have you done now, Arran?" Tarrah asked in dismay.

"I've never seen her before in my life!"

"If you desire to reach the Colossus the way will be difficult," the Gerudo said as she stood at the table, her gaze fixed on Link.

Arran, Con and Tarrah looked blankly from the Gerudo to Link in amazement.

"Only one who sees with the Eye of Truth can cross the Haunted Wasteland," Link replied, his eyes downcast.

The woman's tanned face broke into a grin.

"It's been a while. Fifteen years isn't it?"

Link nodded.

"You look well, Aveil."

She beamed and then glanced at his companions.

"Come with me."

Without a word, he got up and followed the Gerudo into another room. Conran didn't quite know what to say, Tarrah looked flabbergasted and Arran merely laughed.

"Gerudo, eh? Who'd 'a thought he had it in 'im?"

Navi alone made no comment.

******

"You need to brace yourself for this," Impa informed Malon as she closed the door.

Malon arched a russet eyebrow quizzically.

"For what?"

"You're being used against us," Nabooru announced, surprising the newcomer who hadn't realised that she was there.

"I'm what?" Malon snapped. "How dare you accuse me of that? Do you honestly expect me to betray Zelda? How can you think that of me?"

"Not you personally," Impa soothed her. "But don't you think that it's a little strange how from all of the companions that he could have Titus prefers _your _daughter? Or should I say, _Dezauras _prefers your daughter?"

"They know you're sympathetic to Zelda," Nabooru added. "They've known since the day Titus was born."

Malon shook her head.

"They've been using Caron? How could they!"

"Malon…"

"She has a crush on Titus, Impa. She's just a child, how could she possibly be played like this!" 

"You've just answered your question," Nabooru replied. "Because she's a child, and a pretty girl at that. She is flattered that the King of Hyrule pays attention to her, thinks that it's going to get her far in this world."

"Caron has changed, you might not have noticed but she's become far haughtier these days than the charming little thing she used to be. She's being turned against you, against us," Impa added. "You've got to take her away from here."

Malon raked her fingers through her hair.

"I'll kill him, that bastard son of a whore."

"Take her to Aratea," Nabooru suggested. "You'd be more than welcome there, and I've heard that the prince is a handsome lad, Caron would soon forget Titus. Ducal prince may not be as grand as a king, but seeing who his mother is he's bound to have a nicer temperament."

******

"I'm surprised that I find you alive," Aveil commented as she gulped the last dregs of her wine down. "Everyone else thinks you're dead. Not the Gerudo though."

Link cracked a wry smile.

"Nice to know that some people keep the faith."

"Well, Nabooru isn't going to let us admit to it even if we think otherwise."

He shrugged and took a sip of his beer.

"Alright Aveil, what's going on? How come you're here instead of the Valley?"

Aveil smirked.

"Believe it or not, I'm on an errand for Impa."

"Impa?"

"Yeah," she replied with a nod. "Nabooru would have done it herself, only her absence would not have gone down well with our dear Dezzy."

She spat on the floor.

"But whaddya know? I come here and I find you, inevitably heading towards Aratea. And you've got my mission covered."

"What would your mission be?" Link asked, already knowing the answer.

"I'm supposed to be protecting the Duchess' envoy. Impa said it would be her nephew, but now that I find him he turns out not to be a Sheikah but a kid who bears more than a passing resemblance to dear old King Harkinian. I wonder who he could be?"

"Enough games Aveil, why does Impa need him protected?"

Aveil dug the dirt out from under her fingernails with a splinter of wood.

"Dezauras knows he's got the Will," she said in an undertone. "When Wrel failed to bring him back then Dezauras got impatient. Wrel still hasn't returned, but one of your Kokiri buddies sighted him at the edge of the forest, heading for Aratea by the looks of things. As a last ditch, they'll try to pick you guys up there. That's if Graev doesn't get you first."

"Graev?"

Aveil fixed her amber gaze on the warrior.

"Graev," she repeated. "Just about the most dangerous man Dezauras has in his entourage. He's on your trail, and he won't stop until he's completed his mission objective."

"Which would be to kill us, judging by your tone of voice."

The Gerudo nodded.

"So what are you going to do about it?"

Link tapped the handle of his tankard.

"Be on guard for a start. Perhaps I'd be better off going through Hyrule, it would be quicker than the four days through the forest plus another two through the plains."

"Dezauras would have the whole Hylian guard out looking for you before you made it out of Kokiri Forest. Besides, there's nothing worth going back to in Hyrule just yet. The king has to be… persuaded to abdicate."

"In favour of Princess Zelda."

Aveil smiled slyly with a nod.

"The way the _king rules has put more than a few noses out of joint. The boy's a brat, Sibella spoils him to ruin and Dezauras is the one pulling all the strings behind them. The kid even-" Aveil checked herself and then beckoned Link closer. "There are times, Nabooru says, when Dezauras takes on a form of madness, when his eyes burn with rage and in some lights turn as red as any demon's. And there are times when that madness looks to consume Titus."_

Link looked up in alarm.

"Gods Harkinian, what did you do?" he muttered. "Surely he had more sense to put that sort of man in charge of his kingdom?"

"Who knows," Aveil said sadly. "Where credit is due, the man was a great king and we admired him, but other decisions he made bordered on the insane. Marrying his daughter to that brute Phineas for one thing."

She watched Link's face for a reaction and caught no visible trace.

"She was there when her father died, you know. At his bedside, having only just gotten out of bed herself, the girl had strengths beyond anyone's comprehension. Perhaps she still does."

Something in Aveil's statement made Link curious.

"What bed had she just gotten out of? Was she ill?"

Aveil looked at him in stunned surprise.

"Where have you been for the last fifteen years not to hear? Both Zelda and Sibella bore sons on the same day, within the same hour of each other. Didn't you know?" 

Before Link could comment, a deafening crash sounded from the main room.

"By the sands of-" Aveil began, but Link had already charged out of the door, his hand on his sword.

******

For Tarrah, it had been a perfectly natural decision. Arran had already commented on how short of funds they were, and she didn't want Con to have to pay for all the reasons Link had already listed, and so when the innkeeper suggested hiring entertainment she found herself with an audience as she danced for the roomful of people once she had offered her services. She conscientiously worked on not blushing as she noted her father's beaming smile of pride and Con's slack jaw at her dancing, as well as her singing which she had indulged in once one of the other occupants had produced a lute and began playing a well known folk tune that she had known by heart since infancy.

What she hadn't banked on was a very amorous drunken man by the name of Gullard. Gullard was well known in the area as a frequent visitor to the less savoury establishments of the area, and while he was perfectly amicable when sober he became less than pleasant when under the influence. He also possessed the values of a small child, believing that what he wanted was fully entitled to him.

And he felt entitled to Tarrah.

At first, she had found it amusing that this man had climbed onto the table to dance with her and was oblivious to the sudden tension that had gripped Arran's frame and Conran's look of mild alarm. It was when Gullard's hands made for her chest that she realised that the situation wasn't quite as amusing as she'd initially thought.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked shrilly as she pushed him away. 

Gullard grinned and stepped closer.

The cold grip of panic clutched at Tarrah's chest as she took a step back.

"Oh no, this is not for sale."

He was about to make a reply when he was seized by the collar and yanked down off the table with a thud.

"Keep your hands to yourself, you sick pervert!" Arran growled.

"Arran let it rest," Tarrah began. "He was just…"

"Just trying to have a little fun with my daughter!" the irate father replied.

Con was glaring now at Gullard, who had made the transition from good humour to anger in just two short minutes. By now the atmosphere in the room was stifling, the tension became reminiscent of the night that Conran had first met his elder companions in Ariad, only now he was pressingly aware of the fact that he would very probably end up having to fight as well, and he was by no means built for a fist fight. At home he had always been the pacifist when the local boys had been scuffling, and it was that reputation that had always led to him being not quite as popular as he had hoped to be. It wasn't just that reason that caused him to be isolated though.

"You just keep your filthy hands off her," Arran was saying as he unwisely shoved Gullard in the chest.

Gullard chuckled in what seemed good nature before his fists balled and smacked into Arran's unprotected belly. Winded, Arran staggered backwards and knocked against the table- that Tarrah had mercifully vacated- and sent it flying with an almighty crash.

"What the hell was that for?" Tarrah yelled, glaring at the now very angry drunk. "You dirty bas-"

She was cut off by Conran stepping in front of her and feeling for his sword under his cloak. He was more than prepared to use it if the situation called for it.

"Sir, I find your conduct offensive, and think you should apologise to this young lady for propositioning her. I apologise for the manner in which her father spoke to you but really as he was only looking out for his daughter's wellbeing I …"

His voice trailed off as Gullard's party of friends 'oohed' patronisingly.

"Smack 'im one Gully!"

"Little toff, what's his problem?"

Con's aqua eyes narrowed and darkened. They would never have dreamed of talking to him that way had they known who he was, but then again he reasoned that such knowledge would have only made the situation worse.

"I will ask you again, apologise and refrain from you pursuit of my friend or else suffer the consequences."

Again, the group burst out laughing and the boy could feel his cheeks darkening in anger. Hadn't Link used the same tactic to rescue him from Wrel and his men?

"Well well well, looks like a party and I wasn't invited," a feminine voice announced from the doorway to the adjacent room.

Gully turned to look in the direction of Aveil and instead met with Link's fist that sent him to the ground. Blood spattered across his face as his nose broke and Link merely smirked sardonically.

"Skip the small talk next time Con, guys like him don't understand big words."

Arran by this stage had pulled himself off the floor and was wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Thanks pal, I appreciate it."

Link raised his eyebrows.

"Just can't keep your hands to yourself, can you?"

"Actually, that guy you just knocked out was getting up close and personal with Tarrah," Navi remarked as she perched on his shoulder. "Oh, and you might want to lean your head to the left…"

No sooner had he done so than a knife sailed through the air and embedded itself in the wall, cutting the air in exactly where his neck had been. Link spun on his heel angrily and faced the knife thrower, who was glaring at him with no shame.

"OK, now I'm pissed."

Arran grinned and cracked his knuckles. He knew Link well enough to realise when a fight was on.

Conran shrank back against a wall with Tarrah beside him as all hell broke loose around them. Navi was flittering around the chaos, her aura yellow as she hovered above various assailants who instantly toppled under an assault from Link or Arran, although the Gerudo woman was holding her own as well.

"Do they normally do this?" Tarrah whispered.

Conran shrugged.

"Wouldn't know," he replied as Arran floored someone with an elbow to the solar plexus. 

"Looks like fun." 

"Yeah," Con agreed, surprised to learn that he actually meant it.

Tarrah smiled at him and then her eyes widened in alarm. Conran followed her gaze and noticed that the knife-thrower had one of his blades drawn and was advancing upon the totally oblivious Arran.

"Arran, behind you!" Tarrah cried, her voice lost in the ruckus.

Conran searched wildly for Link or Navi to see whether they'd noticed and found them embroiled in enough trouble of their own. Tarrah surged forward to try and help her father, but Con knew that she'd never make it in time. There was only one thing to do.

"Wait," he told her flatly as he extended his hand.

Tarrah was about to argue when she noticed that his fingertips were glowing green. A small gasp escaped her as a green flame surged from his hand and surrounded the dagger. The blade glowed red then white hot and caused the wielder to drop it with a yelp of pain that attracted Arran's attention. He caught sight of the still burning dagger that seemed to be melting in the heat of the mystical green fire and, after punching his assailant, found himself staring at Conran, whose fingers still glowed green.

"How did you-?" Tarrah began.

Con felt his head begin to spin and he reached out to steady himself on the table.

"Are you a sorcerer?"

He shook his head, still feeling dizzy.

"No, not really. I inherited my powers from my mother."

Tarrah looked at him closely for a moment, not sure what to make of the situation. Because of the way he was standing hunched, she was able to see a pendant hanging from his neck on a thin black leather cord. The charm that hung there was a small gold disk, on which there was a small raised emblem that she was certain she'd seen before, three raised triangles pointing upwards around a flat one pointing down.

A tiny Triforce.

******

A.A: I hate this chapter.

Link: Well, we're in agreement about something then.

A.A: It was so hard to write. But the next one will be OK, hopefully.

Navi: I didn't mind it.

Link: But if Con's got a Triforce pendant _and magic powers then that means-_

A.A: SSH!


	7. Izard Forest

Disclaimer: As usual. Legend of Zelda and all its characters belong to Nintendo. Which means that the rest belong to me. And you don't really want to borrow them now, do you?

A.N: There is one reason and one reason only as to why I haven't updated in a while. A long while. That reason is: school. Essays, coursework, trips, general fatigue resulting in writer's block… Oh well. Hopefully this is sufficiently long enough to make up for the lack of updates.

Chapter 7: Izard Forest

Mentes looked anxiously around him before slipping silently into the courtyard. The castle was still within, everyone had long since fallen asleep. He alone had waited inside his chamber for midnight to creep around, and when the Temple of Time had tolled twelve he had gathered together his small package of affairs and made his way to the castle exterior. Now he found himself waiting.

A small sound behind him caught his attention and he turned to come face to face with a darkly clad form.

"I see that you remain as punctual as ever, my dear," he said warmly.

Impa smiled.

"The same can be said of you old friend," she replied. 

The elderly tutor looked back at the castle with a look of sadness on his face.

"Did you know that yesterday was my eighty third birthday? I came here when I was twenty years old and now I am abandoning my post. I can't remember when it was that I started to think of this place as my home and now I cannot believe that it has had to come to this."

He shook with a sobering breath and then straightened himself up.

"You'll come home soon enough Mentes," Impa said softly. "We all will."

The old man smiled warmly.

"With my star pupil before us, ready to take up the throne the way that the gods intended."

As the Sheikah woman led him out of the castle grounds to an awaiting cart, Mentes' thoughts returned as they so often did to the first time he had held a conversation with the little Princess of Hyrule as she had been then. He had been sixty years old and studying the books of the library late at night with a candle when his examination was interrupted by a small chink of light on the floorboards gradually getting wider as the door opened. A petite figure robed in white with a cloak of dark grey wrapped around her slender shoulders tiptoed into the cavernous room clutching a flickering candle as she searched. There was no doubt in Mentes' mind as to who the child was, he had taught her father and had occasionally caught sight of her at public functions.

"Can you not sleep, Your Highness?" he had asked her.

The girl had gasped and spun around to face him, surprise painted across her delicately pretty features.

"You startled me," she murmured after a moment's hesitation. 

"As you did me, I can assure you," he had replied warmly. "I would not associate a child of your age with the library at this hour."

Even in the partial glow of the candle he could see a pink flush on the nine year old girl's cheeks.

"Would it be less strange if I were prince?"

"I do not think that I follow."

"Do you find it strange that a girl should be in a library?"

Mentes had risen from his desk and crossed to the child, who stood proudly before him.

"I believe that my meaning has become somewhat misinterpreted. I merely find it odd that you are here when logic dictates that you should be in the west wing and fast asleep. It is nearly midnight."

"Oh."

It surprised the tutor how resolutely she had stood under his gaze. Many other children both contemporary and older than her had squirmed uncomfortably and hastily made excuses to flee his company. Princess Zelda however, showed no signs of discomposure or impatience.

"I came to look for a book."

"Indeed?"

"Yes."

"Well perhaps I might be of some assistance," he offered, bowing politely. "What sort of book do you want?"

He was expecting to be asked for an illuminated manuscript or a volume of illustrations, something pretty to look at, but he was amazed by her reply.

"It is called 'Divine Lore and the Sacred Realm.'"

He had faltered momentarily and sought her startlingly clear eyes for any suggestion that she might be toying with him. He found none.

"Are you sure it was called that?"

Zelda had nodded.

"Yes."

She paused and looked momentarily uncertain before the confidence returned to her face.

"I've read it three times already."

At this new piece of information, Mentes took time to examine the small child before him and frowned heavily.

"Are you aware," he began slowly, "that the book you have just mentioned is the most guarded and complicated book in this library?"

She had nodded.

"Yes."

"And you say you have read it thrice?"

"Yes."

Mentes found himself faced with a dilemma. He himself had studied the book in question at length and found it incredibly challenging, so challenging that he had been hesitant to read it for a second time and only did so after an interval of ten years. To him, it was ludicrous to suggest that a child of nine years, who had only been reading for about five of those nine, could have read such material. Added to the fact that she was a girl, the situation was preposterous. But this child happened to be the heir to the throne, and if he was to insult her and brand her a liar it could lead him into terrible trouble.

"Tell me then, how the Sacred Realm was created and maintained."

He was certain that she would not know the answer, certain that she would delve into a fairytale explanation with no suggestion of truth that he did not realise at first what she was telling him.

"… the resting place of the Triforce became known as the Sacred Realm, and is accessible today only through the Door of Time in the Temple of Time. To uphold the Realm and its treasure, the three goddesses sought out six Sages, forest, fire, water, spirit, shadow and light. There is, however, a seventh Sage who will arise to protect it should the need arise, the Sage of Wisdom who will embody Nayru's lore. Farore forged a sword she named the Sacred Key, but it is known today as the Master Sword and can only be wielded by the Hero of Time, an individual said to be the spirit of Courage himself. His task is to guard the Triforce, and its seven keepers, and smite evil should it seek out the Triforce."

She waited patiently as Mentes processed the information with a passive expression on his face.

"And you say that you _read _this?"

Zelda nodded keenly.

"Yes, but the strange thing is that I felt as though I was _meant _to know it-"

Her voice trailed off suddenly as she realised that she was out of place.

"Please don't tell my father about this."

Mentes had suddenly felt more alive than he had done for years as he spoke with her, and the child herself had seen this by the way that his eyes sparkled as he spoke.

"Tell me Princess, are you being tutored by your attendant?"

"No sir."

"And you _like _to learn, do you?"

Zelda had nodded.

"Yes. More than anything."

And so their relationship had begun. Mentes had gone straight to Impa and suggested that he undertake the unorthodox tutelage of the King of Hyrule's daughter, teaching her whenever the King found himself embroiled in matters of state. In Zelda he had at last found someone as his intellectual equal and rival and genuinely looked forward to his sessions with her. Then one day, shortly after her tenth birthday, the realisation had dawned upon Mentes that the Princess of Hyrule was a phenomenon he had never dreamed of encountering. She was far wiser than any other person he knew, and the wonderful thing was that she was so quietly humble about it. By nine and a half she was quoting the greatest of ancient philosophers with ease, by ten she outshone his knowledge of the Sacred Realm by far, at eleven she could not only discuss the supposedly complex matters of state with him but also suggest perfectly plausible solutions to them with the quiet confidence that he came to cherish her for.

By sixteen, she had been married to a man who was boorish, slovenly and ignorant.

He remembered the day that he had found her sobbing into her hands after the news had been broken to her and it had almost broken him. Seeing the beautiful, willowy form of the girl he loved like a daughter as distraught as that had permanently imprinted itself upon his memory.

"Do not let him break you child," he had soothed as he sat by her side. "Do not let any of them break you. Someday things will come right, mark my words."

He only wished that he held the same courage in his convictions sixteen years later.

"Mentes?"

Impa's voice brought him out of the past and back to the present. They had reached the market place where a small cart awaited them. Sitting in the driver's seat was the woman he recognised as Malon, the daughter of Talon. Impa helped Mentes into the back opposite a sullen teenage girl Mentes assumed was Malon's daughter before springing into the seat beside Malon.

"Onto Aratea," Mentes whispered cheerfully.

Opposite him, Caron cast a mournful, longing look at the castle before the cart pulled away into the night.

******

Tarrah couldn't sleep. 

Every time she closed her eyes, the same thing happened: something told her to stay awake. She felt twitchy, as though every nerve in her body was alive and waiting for something to happen. Every sight, every sound, every smell, everything seemed so much more potent than usual. She could hear the whispered voices of Link and Navi in the next door room, not clearly enough to understand but certain words she could hear clear as a bell.

She sighed and rolled onto her side, trying to forget about her seemingly enhanced senses and making a conscientious attempt at changing her thought pattern. Arran lay sprawled out on the bed across the room, totally at peace despite the large purple bruise that coloured his jaw. Tarrah couldn't understand it, why had he reacted the way he had? If it had been some other pretty girl up there, he wouldn't have hesitated to try his luck.

Or would he?

She groaned and flipped her pillow over before putting her head back down. Arran had certainly been hypocritical with his earlier actions, how many girls had he gone for when he was drunk? But then again, she had overheard something before heading to bed and it had puzzled her.

"You started all this because of that girl?" the Gerudo woman had asked him.

"She's my daughter and I love her, and I'd do it all again if it meant protecting her."

Arran stirred in his sleep and pulled the blankets over his shoulders. Tarrah's features softened as she looked at him from her side of the room. There was something about her father this time that seemed different, and although she hated to admit it he didn't deserve to be treated so badly by her.

_Now wait a minute girl, just because he's managed to behave himself for _one _night doesn't mean that he's reformed._

She rolled over again and found herself looking out of the window at the bright, crescent moon that peeped through the dilapidated shutters. 

Why was it that she could never sleep when the moon was waning? 

******

"I won't go! I won't!"

Caron had knocked her hairbrush from her vanity table and glared at her mother as the implement fell to the ground with a crash. Malon was standing by her daughter's bed with her arms folded.

"You will do as I tell you to do Caron, and I say we are going to Aratea."

"You expect me to associate with traitors?" the girl had cried. "That might be good enough for you but it's not for me!"

Malon's jaw had tightened with her anger and she returned the glare.

"Do you know under what circumstances King Harkinian died? Of course you don't, because if you did then you would certainly not be having this argument with me my girl. Harkinian would no sooner have left the kingdom to Titus than I would leave the ranch to a horse."

And now, she found herself in the back of a wagon with an old man, trundling along a moonlit road in the direction of Aratea. She huddled inside the folds of her cloak and glared at the two women up front.

Malon had been getting nowhere in trying to persuade Caron to go, so Impa had stepped in. Although she would never admit it, Caron had always been a little intimidated by the Sheikah woman. There was something about her imposing size and build that left the girl thinking of some sort of fierce warrior.

As Malon had left the room, Impa had barred the door with her arms over her chest. Caron had instantly shrunk back. She hated confrontations.

"You really have become neat poison, haven't you?" she murmured in a soft tone.

Caron's temper had flared.

"Excuse me?"

Impa's mouth had quirked upwards in a scathing smirk.

"You're going to hear the truth from me Caron as it seems that none of your family will speak it to you."

"Yeah? And what truth is that then?" she snarled.

The Sheikah had strode across the room and stood too close to the girl for her comfort

"You are nothing more than a vain and spoiled little brat," she said calmly. "If you could open those pretty hazel eyes of yours and look past the end of your nose for one moment then you would see that your behaviour is hurting your mother."

Caron had opened her mouth to protest but was silenced by Impa's holding up her hand.

"You are going to hear me out because this part you will not like hearing. Would you like to know the reason why Titus enjoys your company so much?"

"I already do know. He likes me," Caron had replied smugly.

"Try again."

When Caron had failed to reply, Impa placed a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Dezauras knows who you are, he knows that your mother is one of the staunchest supporters of Princess Zelda in this kingdom. And he knows that she is tied to the rebellion, which is why he continues to keep you in Titus' company. Think about it Caron, a ranch girl and a king? You're too big for fairytales."

Even now as the wagon rolled on into the night Caron could still not believe it. He couldn't have been using her, he just couldn't…

_Well I'll never know now,_ she told herself. _One way or another, I'll never see him again._  

******

Link lay flat on his back on the pallet bed in the inn and regarded his bruised knuckles with a hint of amusement. That fight had gone surprisingly well he thought, neither he nor Arran were injured too badly, Aveil had kicked some serious ass and Con… well, Conran proved to be full of surprises.

He glanced across the room to the second bed where the boy slept. Arran had been struck with a spell of acute paranoia regarding the relationship between Tarrah and Conran and had insisted upon sharing with Tarrah, leaving Link and Conran to bunk together. The boy was asleep already, and lay on his left side with his arm curled around the pillow, dead to the world.

"He's gifted you know," Navi commented.

Link nodded before extinguishing the bedside candle.

"Yeah."

The fairy had made her bed in the pocket of Link's cloak that lay flat on his chair.

"I was wondering what it was about him when we first came across him. You know when someone's talented like that, their aura tingles."

"Aura?" Link asked. "People have those?"

Navi made a small sound of agreement.

"Like a fairy's, but invisible. We can feel them, and I know that some people can feel them, I know that Saria can."

In the darkness there fell a pause as Navi's memories of Saria and the forest filled her mind. Link too felt a pang of sadness for the loss of his 'little/older sister,' there were times when he really could have done with her level head and sympathy.

"I could feel Zelda's. It felt warm," he said quietly. "It changed when we got our Triforce parts, but it was still warm."

"I think we should be very observant of Conran from now on," Navi said slowly. "If he's got this sort of power he could well attract a lot of unwanted attention."

Link cracked a wry grin in the darkness.

"We've already got the unwanted attention Navi, the question now is how to get rid of it."

"What exactly did that Gerudo tell you?" the fairy queried. "Because as far as I can tell there's something bigger going on here than just getting the Will to Aratea."

Conran murmured in his sleep and rolled over. Link waited to ensure that he was asleep and then answered.

"We're being followed by Dezauras' top assassin. Apparently Con wasn't the one who was meant to get the Will, Impa's nephew was. I don't know if the change of roles was planned or not, but Impa is going all out to make sure that Con gets back to Aratea in one piece."

He paused for a moment.

"I think that we were right Navi."

Navi nodded her head in agreement, her blue light bobbing in the darkness.

"I thought so. Are you… are you OK about that?"

Link didn't reply, and although Navi knew he'd never admit it out loud, the knowledge that had come to him was not something he was going to be comfortable with.

******

Aratea Keep interrupted the pure light of the moon as it stood tall against the star dappled sky above. Of the many darkened windows only one was illuminated by candlelight, it was a window on the first floor in the western wing that looked out across the plains surrounding the site. If one could have looked closer, they would have been able to see a pale figure gazing out across the fields in search of something, worry etched across their face while fair brows were knitted in concern. Something had roused the sleeper from restless dreams, a sense that something harmful was not only approaching someone dear to them but also to their home.

Wrel's small squadron of men lurked in a copse that crowned one side of the valley, watching the house intently. It had taken them twelve hours to reach their destination, breaks not included, and now all they had to do was wait for the boy to turn up. This was unlikely, as nothing escaped Graev's net. Wrel scowled as he tried to stay awake in the saddle. He almost wished that the assassin would fail, he desperately wanted another chance at that swordsman. While they waited, they were unaware of a pair of Sheikah eyes watching them from the shadows. 

Dayne grimly observed the scene, his face a picture of anger. There was no way he contend with this force on his own, and even if he did have assistance they weren't equipped to deal with such a threat. 

_Lady Zelda does not need this sort of thing now of all times._

He glared in the direction of the mounted Hylians and slunk away into the shadows.

******

_It was drawing closer to him, causing a cold sweat to form in its wake. Those eyes glowed maliciously, evil intent visible in their jewelled depths. He reached for his sword and found that he couldn't, even though he desperately wanted to he just could not draw his sword._

_ And the beast came closer…_

Conran awoke with a start, his heart threatening to escape his body as it pounded in his chest. He swallowed hard and pushed his hair away from his eyes, surprised to find it damp with sweat.

"You alright?"

Link looked over at him from his side of the room. Conran was surprised to see him fully dressed and packed already. He glanced out of the window, noticing that the sky was still dark.

"I'm fine," he replied. "Just a bad dream. Nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure?"

Conran didn't like the tone of Link's voice.

"Yes I'm sure, it was only a dream. I'm not so young that I'm scared by nightmares."

Link looked taken aback and shrugged.

"I wasn't saying that. I had a friend who saw prophecies in her dreams, it's taught me to be cautious."

"Oh. Sorry."

There was an awkward silence while Link tied his pack up.

"You should get your stuff together, I'm going to wake Arran and Tarrah before I get some provisions. We're leaving in an hour."

"An hour? But it's still night…"

"Dawn's three hours away, the forest is two. I want to make sure we're well away from here before sunrise so we don't get spotted."

Conran looked puzzled.

"Why should we be worried about that?"

Link looked across at Navi for guidance, but when he found her still asleep he turned to Con.

"I'm not going to keep this from you, you deserve to know. The Gerudo last night, Aveil, she told me that we're being tracked by a nasty piece of work by the name of Graev. He's one of Dezauras' men and he's under orders to stop us."

The sombreness of Link's words drew attention to just how serious this piece of news was.

"But you can handle him, right?"

Link smiled.

"Can't say for sure until I meet him face to face with a sword in my hands. But if it reassures you, no-one who means to harm me or my friends has ever lived to try it again."

Conran smiled.

"Is that all?"

"No. Wrel's gone ahead to Aratea."

At this piece of news Conran's face darkened.

"What?" he asked softly.

"If Graev fails, Dezauras aims to stop us at Aratea with Wrel. I don't know what his orders are, but you should brace yourself for when we get there. Anything could have happened."

Con hadn't listened to the last part of Link's sentence. His hands had balled into fists.

"If he's so much as laid a finger on my mother then I'll-"

"He won't," Link said firmly. "Aveil claims help is on the way. But if he has, then I won't let him live to repeat his mistake."

If Conran had been thinking more rationally, he would have questioned why Link didn't ask him about his mother, or why he responded with quite so much certainty, as if he had known that his mother was capable of taking care of herself.

"Conran, I give you my word that nothing will happen to you or your family so long as you are under my protection." Link said quietly. "And I don't plan for you to leave it until this whole mess is cleared up."

Navi had woken half-way through his speech and listened intently. She wondered if he would have been so protective if he hadn't just realised that the boy was not only of Hylian blood but the blood of Princess Zelda.

******

Sibella stared out of her window longingly at the morning sunshine, resenting her confinement within the walls of the castle. There were times when Dezauras' paranoia disheartened her, such as his decisions to keep her indoors where she could be under constant supervision and under no threat of attack, although she was convinced that it was only due to his love of seeing her agitated. It had always been the case with him.

She remembered the day that her marriage contract was drawn up with mixed emotions. At the time she had been nineteen, older than most of the unmarried girls in her area and certainly older than her mother and aunts had been at the time of their weddings. Her father had explained that her hand had been reserved for the richest suitor of them all, and as always he had been right. From that moment on, Sibella had been trained to see King Harkinian, her cousin's father, as her future husband and not uncle.

She hadn't wanted to marry him. At the time, she had been convinced she was going to marry a nobleman named Kade who had been widowed with two small children. It had always been a pleasure for her to sit with the bereaved family and over time she had grown fond of the children, and then later their father. She remembered having lengthy conversations with her cousins about him, who had laughed at her sentimentality. 

"Your father would never let you marry a man like that, have you seen his home?!"

"Bella, you know full well that you are expected to marry someone of the bluest blood, our aunt was queen!"

"Can you imagine? The first cousin of Hyrule's princess married to a _widower?_"

And then her father had taken her aside one afternoon and told her of her impending wedding. The irony of the situation hit her immediately, as he had chosen to tell her the very day that the whole family had turned out to see Zelda's hand given to Phineas of Aratea. Although Sibella had never been particularly fond of her younger cousin, there was something about the look of subjugation on Zelda's pretty oval face that had inspired sympathy. For a moment their eyes had met as Zelda had been loaded into the bridal carriage with all her possessions, and Sibella had seen in that one look just how dismal an existence was waiting for her, for both of them.

A political marriage without love.

Sibella's eye had wandered to the party of ministers who flanked the king, and she had spied a pale, dark haired man among them looking for some reason rather smug. For some reason, she could not take her eyes from him, and later learnt that his name was Dezauras.

"Mother!"

Sibella blinked as Titus flung open the door to her chamber and stormed over to her.

"What is it dearest?"

The boy scowled and flung himself onto her chaise.

"I want that stupid tutor fired. He didn't bother showing up for our session and he is always bloody lecturing me about punctuality, he's nothing but a brainless hypocrite."

"He didn't appear?" Sibella asked.

This was very curious, Mentes was always as punctual as the sunrise.

"Maybe the old geezer finally fell off his perch," Titus grinned with an expression that suggested he very much wanted that to be the case. "Took him long enough, damn him."

Sibella turned her head so that her son did not see her frown. Mentes' failure to appear seemed entirely too convenient for her tastes. 

"I shall speak with Dezauras about it. Do not let it trouble you precious."

She was troubled enough for the both of them.

******

"I hate this forest," Navi remarked. "It's so lifeless, I can't feel any spiritual energy anywhere."

"It's too far from Hyrule." 

"Still, it's just not right. There has to be some spiritual entity here, how would the forest live without it?"

The fairy shivered and flew onto the top of Link's head.

"It feels the same way our forest did when the Deku Tree died."

"Link!"

Arran trotted Gus up beside Epona, looking apprehensive.

"Conran said something 'bout us being followed. Is that true?"

Link nodded.

"Keep your eyes opened, I have no idea where they could be. And by the sounds of him, Graev knows what he's doing."

"But so do you. You can take him."

Link shrugged.

"I suppose so, but it's been a while since I've had a good challenge. I've gotten rusty."

Arran chuckled.

"You? Link, you know you're talking bull there. I've never had a hope of beating you, and I was taught by the village knight when I was a kid. Never could put my finger on how an orphan from Kokiri Forest could best me."

The blonde man chuckled.

"I've never been arrogant about it."

"Ouch, what did I ever do to you?" Arran laughed.

Link smiled.

"Sorry, force of habit."

"Funny that."

Arran glanced behind at Tarrah and Conran behind them who were chatting comfortably with each other.

"I know this won't happen but if it seems that you can't take that Graev guy," he began, "then let me take over. I know he'll probably kill me, but you should take those two and get them to safety. I should manage to buy you enough time."

Link rolled his eyes.

"The heroism isn't needed Arran, I won't have you sacrificing yourself. But I appreciate the offer. You're not as sleazy as you let people think you are."

"Thanks for that."

Tarrah called her father over to where she and Con were talking, leaving Link to ponder the route ahead.

"Link," Navi murmured quietly. "There's someone else in this forest other than us. I can sense them."

He nodded.

"I know. I didn't think it would be long, I just hoped it wouldn't be this soon."

"And?"

Link glanced at back his companions, as though reminding himself of what there was to lose.

"I'm just going to have to show this Graev what swordplay is all about."

_To be continued…_

******

Link: Oh good, you're alive.

A.A: You're mocking me, aren't you?

Navi: Ignore him.

A.A: Well, this chapter took a lot of working at. The next is going to be a little better hopefully. 

Link: It's still short though.

A.A: I'll have you know this chapter is longer than my English coursework, thank you very much. You'll be complaining more next chapter though…

Navi: Something bad's gonna happen, isn't it?

A.A: Mmmmmaybe…

Link: Perhaps I can hire Graev to do a job on you. Do us all a favour.


	8. Ambush

Disclaimer: *sung to the tune of 'One Day More' from _Les _Miserables_* One day more! A brand New Year, another disclaimer! *stops singing* Er herm. Well, I still don't own Zelda. Nope, didn't get it for Christmas. _

A.N: A huge one. Will be divided into subsections, _that_ is how big it is.

1. OK, I acknowledge the fact that the last chapter wasn't one of my best. Here is my case, allow me to plead it. 

The last chapter is what I call a transitional chapter. It was a way for me to get from point A to C, a point B chapter if you will- boring but necessary. Also, I've been dropping cunning little hints. One cunning little hint in particular that you won't have understood, because it makes no sense on its own. So, Link and co. are about two days ride from Aratea and they are about to find themselves facing a nasty shock. Well, not so much a shock for all of them, but for Con anyway…

2. Lateness. I have had horrible writer's block. Horrible. So I have finally got over it, with much help from thepiccolopixie, who is probably fed up with my complaining about it. This chapter is especially for her, particularly the Dayne bit because she wants more Dayne. Apologies, Venus, about the lack of TNs, but they'll appear in the next chapter. I promise ^__^! They're only excluded because I checked the word count and this chapter was really for too long with the TNs in it as well.

3. To apologise for the crappiness of the last chapter and the lateness of this one, I have one of my extremely rare but very action packed mammoth chapters at over twelve pages and 5000+ words long (excluding this bit!). So, I hope you all enjoy this and that it's been worth the wait. I hope…

Chapter 8: Ambush

The darkness within Izard Forest seemed to loom ahead for eternity. Not a single ray of sunlight was able to pierce through the dense canopy overhead, and underfoot there was a thick carpet of leaf mulch and detritus that cushioned the footfall of the four horses as they cautiously sought out their path in the darkness. This footfall was muffled by layers of cloth tied around the horses' feet to hide any prints that might be left behind. Occasionally the smothering blanket of dark was broken with patches of bright green light as Navi hovered over an exposed root or concealed rut that stood as a danger to the horses whose nocturnal sight was limited. None of the party felt the urge to speak, taking some small comfort in the silence. As long as they heard no-one, the threat of the lurking assailants in the darkness decreased, although this silence was less than comfortable for Conran. In some ways he could understand the logic behind the reassuring silence, yet it continued to unnerve him. It was bad enough that they were unlikely to _see _their opponents without having to worry about _hearing_ them.

"What time is it?"

Arran's voice cut through the silence like a knife and caused Peony to flinch in surprise. Con quieted her with a pat to the shoulder and soft words while Link considered the answer.

"I have no idea," he said eventually. "Hard to tell in this goddess-forsaken place. Early afternoon or late morning I'd say."

"I swear it's got darker," Tarrah muttered.

Conran nodded.

"Tell me about it, I can hardly make Epona out."

Tarrah paused for a moment, alarmed by this fact. She could see everything clearly, even without Navi's assistance. 

"The air feels damper too," she added. 

"We're riding into the lowlands, these woods are on a gradual downwards slope," Link explained. "The atmosphere isn't as sharp." 

"Or we've got another bloody storm coming up on us," Arran said dryly. "At least the foliage will offer some sort of cover, it's the only remotely reassuring thing about this situation."

"Not enough humidity for another storm," Navi reasoned. 

"Guys, can we please keep it down a little?" Link asked tensely. "If you're making small talk about the weather then I'm hardly going to be able to hear an ambush am I?"

Apologies were murmured while the attention of the others turned swiftly to listening to their surroundings. For a while this task proved a worthy occupation, but their interest in listening slowly but surely faded into boredom.

"This sucks," Tarrah whispered quietly as she brought Phoenix up beside his sister.

Conran nodded and quickly looked around him before answering just as quietly.

"I just wish that this guy would just show up and attack us already, I can't stand this waiting."

Tarrah arched an eyebrow in the darkness, unnoticed by Conran.

"You're beginning to sound like us," she commented.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, it's been two weeks since we set out and when we met you were really shy and polite. Not that that's a bad thing," she added quickly at Con's wounded expression, "in fact it's kinda nice to meet someone with manners for a change. All the guys in the troupe were real jerks, except for Tam of course."

Con felt sympathetic to her troubles.

"I know how you feel, everyone my age hates me back home."

"Why would they hate you?" Tarrah whispered.

"I'm a half-blood," he explained. "My father was Aratean while my mother's a Hylian. I take after her, so I'm tall, skinny and blonde while all the local boys are small, stocky and dark. They hate that, and they hate my mother too, just because she's 'foreign scum' according to them." 

"And she isn't?"

"Of course not!" Con snapped, earning a sharp look from Link up front.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that," Tarrah murmured. "I imagine that she's very beautiful." 

Con nodded.

"She is."

"You must love her a lot," Tarrah commented softly.

"I do."

Tarrah was quiet for a while and Conran realised that he had perhaps said the wrong thing.

"She'll like you, you know," he said quietly. "I hope you'll stay with us for a while, I'd really like that."

Tarrah smiled.

"That all depends," she murmured coyly.

"On what?"

"On how much Arran likes her."

Conran laughed softly.

"It better not be too much, or I'll kick his ass."

Tarrah chuckled gently.

"OK, _now_ you're sounding like Link."

******

Gus stumbled over another root and righted himself quickly. Arran's heart hammered against his chest as the gelding's shoulder went down.

"Link, we've gotta stop soon. It's too dark for us to keep going."

Link kept his anger at the suggestion hidden as he answered.

"I would if I knew we weren't being followed by a deadly assassin. But if you want to stop go ahead."

Arran rolled his eyes.

"I'm not dumb mate, I know exactly what our situation is. I want to know how we plan on continuing if one of the horses breaks a leg over one of these damned roots."

"He has a point," Navi muttered.

Link scowled into the darkness.

"We'll be sitting ducks."

And then he realised that that was the whole point, it must have been what Graev was expecting them to do. Ride as far as they could into the forest until it became too dark for them to ride and get away and then attack when they had stopped. It was so simple that it galled Link to think that he had neglected to consider it, and he groaned inwardly.

Trapped between a rock and the proverbial hard place.

"We're going to have to stop Link," Navi said quietly. "We can't risk the horses."

As if to add to the argument, Epona stumbled.

_Damn._

"Alright everyone, we stop here," he announced.

Tarrah and Con jumped in their saddles at the unexpected comment and looked at each other in surprise.

"Um, what?" Tarrah offered.

"We're stopping. We can't go any further, it's too dark," Arran replied. 

Con looked horrified.

"But what about Graev? We'll be trapped!"

"I know, but as Arran and Navi have reminded me we're not going to be better off if one of the horses breaks a leg. We're just going to have to prepare ourselves, and no-one drops their guard for a second."

Conran paled and was glad that there was so little light so that no one could see his face.

"How many should we expect?" he asked, trying to keep the tremor from his voice.

"Seven."

Con swallowed. Seven wasn't too bad, but it still made him feel uncomfortable.

"Seven?" Just to check.

"Seven."

Link could hear the apprehension in his voice and dismounted.

"You have a sword don't you?"

Con nodded.

"Yeah, but I guess you could say that it's more decorative than useful," he murmured.

Link raised an eyebrow and patted Epona's shoulder to disguise his sigh of disbelief.

"Well then, we have work to do later. Right now, we're going to set as many fires as possible."

"What?" Arran asked.

"Set fires. If we lay enough then there will be smoke coming up above the trees like beacons. Graev will be looking for signs of us, so let's give them to him, only we won't be where we put the signs. We'll keep going as far from the fires as possible, just to piss this guy off."

Arran grinned.

"You are a devious bastard, I'll give you that."

"Devious? No, just constructive," Link replied.

"I hate to interrupt this touching display of male egotism," Tarrah put in dryly, "but shouldn't we be trying to keep on this guy's _good _side?"

"Yeah."

Had it been lighter, Con and Tarrah would have been able to see the look exchanged between the two adults.

"You two sound nervous," Arran commented.

"Oh we do? Damn, and here I was going for quiet confidence like you two."

Navi chuckled at the sarcasm in the girl's voice.

"As per usual the voice of reason is sounding distinctly feminine."

******

Dayne was absolutely seething. There was only so much he was able to do with the situation at hand before he was forced to take action against the unwanted visitors to his mistress' estate, and slowly but surely his options were wearing thin. 

He watched as Wrel's troops camped out in the area below and surrounding the copse, drawing attention to themselves with their crass actions and crude attempts at a camp. It almost amused Dayne to observe their incompetence, but at the same time he was wary. Wary because of their proximity, wary because he knew full well what Wrel was capable of. The man was a coward, nothing but a bully who picked on those who he knew he could level with no difficulty, only he had seriously miscalculated his prey this time. Dayne knew his opponent's history well; Wrel had been posted as the sword-master in the barracks of Hyrule Castle, once training all the new recruits who had desired to be of Royal service, only his bullying had been brought to light by an extremely angry source who had protested of the man's methods to the king directly. Wrel had been stripped of his position and found that in displeasing the king he had indirectly won the approval of Dezauras.

"The man is an odious toad," Zelda had once told him. "He is all hot air and no fire."

Dayne squinted towards the man and watched grimly as he stood dictating orders to his posse of eight men. He had arrived with eleven, Dayne could only assume that the other three had been sent out to either scout or gather provisions, but nonetheless he kept pressed against the shadows with his ears and eyes attentive to any sound that would alert him to their presence. 

Impatiently, Dayne breathed deeply to calm himself and eased the stiffness from his knee as it had locked after hours spent at his vigil. The Sheikah part of him was good at this observation business, but the larger, Hylian part of him hated the waiting. His father, Izaz was Impa's half brother by the same Sheikah father, and it was from him that Dayne had inherited his shock of white hair and the crimson left eye. Many people who encountered the twenty five year old Sheikah for the first time were alarmed by his mismatching eyes of crimson red and deep, nut brown. His mixed heritage had seen himself and his gentle spirited mother ostracised by their community when he was a small child, and had led to him being far too responsible for one of his age. His father had died when Dayne was very young, leaving his mother Enola to raise him alone until consumption had taken her as its victim when Dayne was nine. As his only living relative, Impa had taken the orphaned child into her care two days after her previous charge was taken as the bride of Duke Phineas. He had come into Zelda's service when he had been a lad of fifteen. It had been Impa that had found him the position and had imposed upon him the importance of his presence in the duchess' household, and never in his ten year spell as her servant had he found reason to question his role. He had found that the twenty-two year old royal was bitterly lonely in her overly ornate home with only comfort found in a five year old child, her beloved only son. Even at fifteen, the young Dayne had felt a strong sense of duty towards the pair which had stemmed from his aunt's influence and the Sheikah blood that ran through his veins. Zelda had become like an older sister to him; on the surface she was a quiet pillar of gentility and serenity, but beneath there was a person so passionate and resolute that very few people knew existed, a person who would not be crossed and who would fight tooth and nail to prevent all that was important to her from being threatened.

******

"Throw all your body weight into it like that and you'll end up on the ground if he side steps, you know that!"

Con paused for breath, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. The physical work out he was getting from Link's training was utterly exhausting, and having spent the last hour working at it he was totally worn-out. Link threw a gourd of water at his pupil and watched him analytically.

"You don't connect with that sword," he said finally.

Con glanced at the weapon in his hands and squinted in the darkness to see what exactly Link meant by that.

"Navi, if you will…"

Navi hovered over Conran's sword, her pale light illuminating it and turning the blade a ghostly silver-white in its radiance. The sword was very old, Con knew that, and very valuable. He had bound the hilt in strips of leather to hide the precious metal and jewels that lay beneath it. His hands had become sweaty from all the practice, and Link regarded both hands and sword sceptically. 

"Did you wrap it in leather?"

Con nodded.

"Well cut it off, you've got no grip with it there."

Reluctantly, Con began to unbind the strips and tried to avoid the watchful eyes of his audience. Arran released a low whistle at the sight of the inlaid gold filigree and the rubies that studded the grip as the black leather fell to the floor.

"Holy Nayru, Din and Farore, that sword must be worth a fortune!"

Tarrah was sitting close to the fire, the one they had adopted that burned furthest from the others, and stared at the sword, saying nothing. 

"That's a ceremonial piece," Link remarked.

Con nodded.

"It belonged to my mother's father, I-"

"Let's hope his spirit doesn't mind you getting it bloody."

Link's comment unnerved him, and threw Con's focus. Since the fight in Fentar, the older man's attitude towards Con had become strange and he had made comments that Conran was certain referred to him, but involving subjects that Link could not and should not know about him, unless…

Con took a deep breath as he began his motions again. Link had figured out who he was. He didn't know how, but somehow he knew his identity, and that alarmed him. As much as he liked and trusted this vagabond, Con was wise enough to know that money and power had a nasty habit of changing people for the worse. In Link's eyes he had only been a peasant when they had met, and if Link knew that he was in fact a ducal prince…

"Focus damn it! Do you _want _to get run through or are you trying my patience?" Link snapped.

"Hey, lay off him Link. He's trying his hardest," Navi commented.

Con's cheeks coloured scarlet. 

"I _am _focused. How am I supposed to gain any ground though when I'm fighting air?"

Navi settled on Link's shoulder and muttered something into his ear that made the older warrior's eyes widen minutely.

"That's enough for now," he said quietly. "I'm going to keep watch."

Arran, Tarrah and Conran watched him go with confused expressions hidden by the darkness. 

"What's with him?"

Navi's aura had dimmed as she settled by the fire.

"Leave him," she told Arran. "He's just anxious."

"Yeah well I'm anxious too, but that doesn't see me snapping at Con."

Tarrah was inspecting her knives and raised an eyebrow.

"He's only trying to do his best to protect us, you shouldn't condemn him for wanting Con to be at his best when these creeps show up."

"Hey, I'm still here you know," Con remarked with a smirk. "I _can_ take care of myself guys."

_I hope_, he added under his breath. His mother had taught him basic swordsmanship, but her shortcomings had been highlighted by his crash course with Link. She was much better when it came to magic, but Con was hopeless.

"You need to relax more," she'd told him. "You're too jumpy, you should just let it take you over and it'll work."

And it had, but only once during that fight. It troubled Con deeply, after all his hours of practicing he had finally got it when Arran's life had been in danger, and he wished that his mother was there to tell him why.

"Are you OK?" Tarrah asked, putting her hand on his shoulder and making him jump.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied. "Jumpy like Link though."

"I don't think they're close, I can't hear anything."

Con raised an eyebrow.

"I don't think we'll be able to hear them until it's too late."

"Like the Sheikah?"

"Who knows?"

Tarrah sighed and brushed a wisp of hair from her face.

"All this waiting makes me nervous."

******

_He isn't Phineas, Link._

Navi's words resounded in his head, over and over again.

_He isn't Phineas._

But he was Phineas' son, and that made a huge, irrational part of him want to be harsh on the boy and hate him the way he hated his father.

_...isn't Phineas._

Link clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes.

_Why does that bastard always ruin everything for me?_

He liked Con, the boy reminded him so much of Zelda and of Hyrule that it was impossible not to like him, but there was a large part of him that Link totally and utterly despised. 

Aratea and Phineas.

_He isn't Phineas, Link._

No, he wasn't Phineas, he was Zelda. And that was the other half of the problem.

"LINK!"

******

Arran shoved Tarrah and Con behind him and drew his sword.

"Take one step closer and I'll kill you," he growled.

The seven men were dressed in dark clothing, as though they were wrapped in the shadows themselves. Arran scanned them quickly, but there was no way of telling which one of them was Graev.

"Hand over the Will and we might just spare you," one of them said in Conran's direction.

"Not happening," the boy growled, gripping his sword tightly. "You'll have to kill me first."

Arran could have despaired of the boy's amateur heroics, but unfortunately had more important things to worry about.

"I must say you've led us on quite the merry chase," another assassin remarked grimly. "Your little trick with those fires was quite inspired."

Arran realised that he was being spoken to and arched an eyebrow.

"It wasn't my trick, but I'll be sure to compliment its inventor." 

The other man's expression darkened.

"So you are not the swordsman."

"I'm a swordsman pal, I think that's more than enough for you to worry about."

He took up a fighting stance while his opponent stepped back and clicked his fingers.

"Kill this fool and the boy, we'll save the girl for sport later."

"You'll be dead before you try," Tarrah growled.

Con had stiffened.

"You're Graev."

Graev nodded.

"And you are Prince Conran. Now that we have those small details asserted, I think it's time you stopped playing at being the hero boy and hand over Harkinian's Will."

To their credit, neither Arran nor Tarrah were thrown by Graev's identification of Conran as a prince.

"No," Conran snarled. 

"A pity, your courage was commendable."

His men sprang into action, two towards each of them. Con grit his teeth and flew towards his attackers, elbowing the first in the belly while meeting the second blade on blade. He glared into his foe's eyes, trying to work out how to overcome his weight disadvantage with his speed. He sidestepped to the left, taking a slash across the hip as he did so. Cursing to himself, he kicked out towards the man's shin, clipping him neatly below the knee and distracting him momentarily before the assault began again with Con on the offensive.

Tarrah crouched low on the ground, flinging a knife and missing her target slightly as her knife embedded itself in the man's thigh. Howling in anger and pain, her victim continued to advance, throwing a punch that connected with her cheek and caused her to see stars. She staggered backwards, trying to regain her balance and stumbled into another assailant, who grabbed her by the pony tail. Yelping, she struggled to free herself by clawing at her attacker's face. Suddenly his expression changed, and Tarrah gasped as a bloodied blade appeared through the man's stomach, mere inches to her right. She moved out of the way as he toppled to the ground and found herself face to face with her father.

"Help Con," he urged her. "Both of you get away from here, I'll hold them off until Link gets here."

"But-"

"No buts Tarrah, do it! I can't lose you, so go!"

Nodding, she ran as Arran charged her other attacker and let loose a furious head-butt.

******

Graev scowled as he watched the proceedings. There should be four of them, Dezauras had said four, but three of them were making good ground. Supposedly it was the fourth one that was problematical.

"Tell me good Prince, where is your bodyguard? Shouldn't he be doing your fighting for you?" Graev taunted.

He received no response, as he expected. The boy was too intelligent to be tricked so easily.

A blue light flashed from somewhere, alerting Graev instantly to the presence of a new party in the fight. One of his men fell soundlessly as they tried unsuccessfully to better him, and Graev became concerned. This new fighter had moved effortlessly, and had not once taken his eyes from his target.

Himself.

"Enough!" Graev barked, and the fracas stopped. Each side eyed the other warily until they realised what the cause for delay was.

Link eyed his opponent calmly, analysing his height, weight and posture with a quick glance. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword and he slowly wrapped his fingers around it.

"Graev I presume?"

"I am. And who might you be?"

Link's spirits soared as the adrenaline pumped through his veins. All of these years of acting aloof had never once dampened his passion for the fight. It was the one thing that allowed him to remain true to himself, the one thing that the Link he had been and the Link he was now had in common. Graev certainly appeared challenging enough for his tastes. The man's expression was unreadable, mirroring Link's in its ambiguity the way a true warrior's face should.

"I'll tell you before you die, I wouldn't want to deprive myself of a challenge by scaring you off."

"Your arrogance will get you into trouble my friend," Graev retorted. "Tough talk displays all the signs of a poor fighter."

"You just made a big mistake there," Link announced dryly. "You're underestimating me."

With that, he pulled his sword from its sheath with a metallic ring. His voice had remained flat and calm throughout his exchange, and never at any point had his words sounded immodest. Arran realised his friend's intent and glanced across at Tarrah, who had understood as well. She and Con were slowly edging away from the group in retreat, and with their departure Arran breathed a sigh of relief. Link would get rid of Graev and it would all be alright.

Link kept his eyes on Graev, still sizing him up. A professional assassin, whose entire being was totally unreadable and who radiated cool, dangerous confidence. Aveil certainly hadn't spared any truths in her assessment of him, and part of Link was pleased about that. He hadn't faced this much of a challenge to his sword skills since the days of Ganon, and that had been at the blade of his doppelganger.

Suddenly Navi flashed yellow as Graev attacked, and she took up her customary position above his head. Thanks to Navi's speed, Link was ready with his defences as the swordsman sprang and he blocked deftly with his sword.

The fight for his life and his friends' had begun.

******

Tarrah's chest hurt as her heart pounded against her ribs. She leapt over roots and slipped on leaves but she didn't stop. Con was right beside her, continually glancing back over his shoulder as they ran. He swore vehemently as he caught sight of the last thing he wanted to see.

"Shit! Tarrah, we've got company."

"I know, the bastards," she replied breathlessly.

Grabbing his wrist, she dragged him off their current course and pulled his sharply right. His bit his lip as the movement jarred his arm painfully but made no vocal complaint. Silvery shards of moonlight cut through the canopy, illuminating spots before them and shimmering off a ditch that trickled with shallow water. The two teenagers leapt it without a thought, chopping and changing their direction frequently in an attempt to throw their pursuers.

Con was flushed as they paused for breath, certain they had shaken their trackers. He glanced over at Tarrah, whose body was trembling and who seemed to be mesmerised by the waning moon. It was then he was able to appreciate his surroundings by the unnatural brightness of the moon. They were in a small clearing of birch trees, silver birch he surmised by their luminous white colouring in the moon's glow. Something set his nerves tingling, something other than his fear and the fierce pumping of his blood.

A strange growl emanated from somewhere nearby, almost animalistic in its tone. Con's eyes scanned the area, looking for its source in alarm. Then he froze.

Company had arrived.

There were three of them, one of whom was the man Tarrah had wounded with her knife, as he walked with a pronounced limp. Tarrah's blank gaze transferred from the moon to the men in front of her and suddenly something in her seemed to snap. Her nose wrinkled as her lips curled upwards in a snarl, exposing her teeth. The trembling that had consumed her body seemed to intensify, even though the night was warm. Con could only reason that the tremors came from fear, particularly as he spotted two seconds too late that one of the trio had a primed crossbow pointed in their direction.

The black bolt flew through the air towards them, and before Con could move it had hit its target. In slow motion, so it seemed, the missile penetrated the soft flesh of Tarrah's side and stuck in her body with a sickening thud. He heard himself scream in protest and time sped up again.

Tarrah sank to her knees, groaning in agony. Calling her name, Conran rushed forward to help her, sickened by how pale her face was and by the blood that oozed from her wound and stained the pure white fabric of her vest.

A feral scream split the air.

Con's blood ran cold as and he stopped dead as he realised that the inhuman sound had come from Tarrah. The scream turned to a guttural growl and the girl's body began to elongate. Her fingers were tensed, and it appeared that her nails were growing before his eyes, looking like polished ebony as her hands seemed to be covered in a thin grey film that was darkening by the second.

Suddenly it was as though a strange rage had come over her as she clawed at the ground with her now black hands before her clothes ripped from her body as it started to change. Con staggered backwards in disbelief as before him where Tarrah had once stood there was a large, black, snarling big cat, its green eyes sparkling like emeralds in the partial darkness. A growl rumbled in her chest as her pointed ears twitched, accustoming themselves with their newly enhanced sense of hearing. The previously ignored men suddenly sprang to life, having been mesmerised by the transformation of girl into beast.

"The little bitch is a demon!"

"Kill her!"

The men sprang at Tarrah, who was crouched with her muscles tensed, her glistening white fangs bared at her assailants. Swords flashed in the moonlight as they attacked.

"No!" Conran cried, drawing his sword and running to apprehend the attackers.

The cat pounced, roaring as she set upon them one by one. The first she mauled by the throat, spraying crimson blood over the grass and staining her pure white teeth. Her pink tongue cleaned the residue from her mouth as her victim sank to the ground, lifeless. At first the dead man's comrades stared in disbelief before renewing their assault.

The beast was ready.

She sprang again, this time slashing her claws across the one man's chest, knocking him to the ground with a scream of rage. The helpless victim cried out in agony but died quickly as the powerful feline jaws tore into his heart. Already the third man had taken flight, but was not quick enough to escape the devastating speed of the big cat. She leapt over the fallen corpse onto the fleeing man's back, piercing his shoulders with her claws as she gripped on. He fell with a scream to the floor beneath her and struggled to escape, twisting desperately beneath her weight and frantically beating her off with his fists. She regarded him almost with amusement before undertaking the same game. A great black paw swatted across his head, knocking it back with a mortal blow that snapped his neck. Again her claws tore into flesh, opening the dead man's cheek and spattering blood across his face. She sat back on her haunches and cleaned her paws, her green eyes flashing menacingly. Suddenly she spied something and sat very still before her nose wrinkled as a snarl rumbled in her throat.

The horrible realisation dawned on Conran that her sights were set on him.

_To be continued…_

******

Link: Why the hell did you end it there?!

A.A: A favourite device of mine. The cliffy. It reminds my readers that I still love them enough to make them go 'ARGH!' at the computer screen. ^__^ xxx *blows kisses*

Navi: Oh gods, not again. You're going to leave us for months now wondering what's going to happen.

A.A: Actually it inspires me to get on with it. Besides, I know exactly what's going to happen in the next chapter, so that's going to be a peach to write.

Link: That's not what I meant.

A.A: Really? And what did you mean?

Link: YOU DIDN'T FINISH MY FIGHT WITH GRAEV YOU COW!

A.A: Oh yeah… oops…

P.S: If you liked that, try my attempt at an angsty oneshot that I wrote trying to beat the block. It's called Enough. But don't forget to read and review this first!


	9. Braerwyn's Glade

Disclaimer: anime animal acknowledges the fact that she has a problem. Her god is not an immortal, it is a humble Japanese chap called Shigeru Miyamoto who owns the Legend of Zelda.

A.N: I know, I know, and I'm really, REALLY sorry. Especially where I left the last chapter, I should be shot. If you had any idea of the workload I'm under at the moment… My spare time has been spent sleeping, that's how exhausted I've been. The only work breaks I've had are the two days at home after Rome and the two days I took off due to a horrendous head cold that reduced all my thoughts to mucus (eugh, unnecessary imagery there!) I would have had this up by half term, only I actually had *no* half term due to the Rome trip. Again, I am really sorry. It's another huge chapter, if that helps…

Oh, and on a good note I got two uni offers this week. It appears that Edinburgh and King's College London want my babies. Two down, two to go!

Enter the TNs… (cookies to those that work out what a TN is before the second author's note at the bottom ^__^!)

Chapter 9: Braerwyn's Glade

Her paws made no sound as she prowled towards him, aware that he was unable to move as she came closer. Cold terror gripped at him as he was unable to look away from her glowing emerald eyes, and the knowledge dawned upon him that unless he did something he was going to end up as dead as Graev's men.

"Tarrah, you've _got _to listen to me. It's me, Conran! Please Tarrah…"

She continued to advance, snarling ferociously as she approached. Con swallowed hard and tried to focus. His mother had taught him a spell once that could bind someone painlessly, but his mind was a blank when it came to remembering it. Trying to regain his senses, Conran took a deep breath and willed himself with every fibre of his being to move away from Tarrah or at least remove his gaze from those hypnotizing green eyes of hers.

He stumbled over a root as he backed away and reached out to steady himself by grabbing the trunk of a slender tree. As his eyes never left Tarrah, he saw the startled reaction of the cat to something behind him and he had no desire to see what exactly that was. Moments later, his heart stopped beating for the longest second of his life as something grabbed his shoulders. Tarrah screamed a furious feline shriek of rage and sprang for whatever it was that held the boy, and Con realised with a huge amount of relief that the unpredictable transformed Tarrah had forgotten him in favour of attacking this new threat, although his safety was still uncertain...

The low, angry voice that answered Tarrah's challenge set the hairs on Con's flesh on end. He had no idea whether the speaker was male or female, beast or man, but he knew that he was not happy with the situation at all. Tarrah began to growl with renewed vehemence, but Con noticed that she was slowing down. Unexpectedly, she swayed on her feet and padded forward a few steps before collapsing onto the mossy ground with a heavy, shuddering sigh. Conran stared in surprise when he suddenly remembered the crossbow bolt in her side and became worried enough to break free from the grasp of whatever it was that held him. If he didn't do something about that wound, then Tarrah was going to die. Her breathing had become laboured as he reached her side, and while she still snarled as he approached she had not the strength to attack him.

"Tarrah, it's alright," he murmured softly. "Please trust me, I won't hurt you."

He lowered himself to the ground and took her head into his lap, caressing the silken black fur that covered her face. Those green eyes still burned with wild hatred, though slowly losing their fervour. 

_"Aeas nanth quar tok meleth?")___

Con jumped as the voice that had spoken earlier spoke again in its alien language, and he looked up to find himself staring at the strangest looking girl he had ever seen. She was unnaturally thin and tall and her entire complexion was a pale silvery colour. Long, straggly, silver hair fell down past her back and was braided with birch leaves while she wore a dress that looked as though it had been made of birch bark.

"_Aeas__ nanth quar tok meleth?"_ the girl repeated, this time with more anger behind her deep tone. _"Greymalkin vili nestaer hoth reyn."_

"I-I'm sorry, but I don't understand," Con managed when he found his voice.

Tarrah tried a growl, but only succeeded with a faint whimper.

"Please, my friend is dying. Can't you help us?"

The harsh expression on the stranger's face softened minutely.

"Hylian," she said slowly. "Thou art Hylian?"

Conran nodded.

"Yes."

"A son of the kings, thou art."

Having overcome his shock, Con found his manners and his inquisitive nature again.

"You understand me?"

"After four hundred years one must learn to adapt, the old ways are dying," she replied tersely.

She bowed stiffly in his direction.

"I am called Braerwyn, and thou hast violated the sanctity of my domain by bringing that heinous creature with thee."

"Heinous?" Con asked, subconsciously tightening his hold on Tarrah as Braerwyn glared at her. "She is not! She's a Hylian like me, I swear it. I don't know what happened but back then, when we were attacked, she changed into this. She isn't evil, I give you my word that she is not."

Braerwyn had been advancing towards them whilst he spoke and was not appearing too impressed by his explanation of events 

"This creature has slain three innocent men. Warrant thy claims of her innocence."

"Innocent?" Con asked, bristling indignantly with anger. "They weren't innocent, they ambushed our party and attacked us without provocation!"

"And that is merit for their execution?"

"They would have raped her," Con grumbled, not letting go of Tarrah. "I think that says enough."

The tall girl looked upon the pair unblinkingly, analysing them with a pair of eyes so dark and brown that they appeared black.

"I cannot aid thee."

Con felt himself get angry by her comment.

"I am no healer, yet I know of one who can offer thee assistance."

She had completely wrong footed Con with her sudden change of attitude and earned two swift blinks as a response.

"What?"

"When she loses consciousness she shall revert, and then I can take thee to one who can assist."

Con nodded and then turned his attention to Tarrah. She growled angrily at his touch, but he was unperturbed by her and set to calming her by stroking her cheek.

"I'll take care of you Tarrah, I swear to you," he whispered.

Tarrah continued to stare at him, growling occasionally but not in intimidation. Conran smiled softly and continued to talk gently to her until her eyes closed and her head sagged against his lap. A cloud rolled over the waning moon above, and a gentle breeze stirred the leaves on the trees. With a breathy moan, Tarrah's body began to change again back into her Hylian form in a much more gentle metamorphosis than the previous, violent display. Her long black hair fell over her olive skin like a curtain, and Con noticed that it was much longer than he had appreciated now that it was free from its confines. He watched her transformation, mesmerised until he became aware that the silky black stands of Tarrah's hair were all that kept him from seeing her totally naked. He felt heat rise to his cheeks as he pulled his cloak off and draped it over her body to preserve her modesty and his.

Braerwyn's dark eyes surveyed the scene with a quirky smile on her pale face.

"Tsilianth will have something that will help thee."

"Tsilianth?" Conran asked.

Braerwyn nodded her head and repeated herself slowly.

"Tsilianth has more time than I for creatures such as thee. She is a healer. She shall know how to aid thy… friend."

She began to walk away slowly, leaving Con to scoop the surprisingly light Tarrah into his arms and follow closely and silently behind his guide. Something glistened in the grass and caught his eye as he passed it. It was a slender silver chain with an opal encased in a fine silver cage suspended from it. Something compelled him to pick it up and pocket it, which he did and continued out of the eerily still glade.

******

Caron made a mental note never to travel by wagon ever again. Her behind had lost all sensitivity hours ago, and she found the company irritating. The old man was fast asleep, though how he managed it she had no idea, and her mother was heavily involved in a conversation with Impa. If there was one thing that Caron hated more than cart travel, it was being ignored.

"Where are we?" she demanded.

The hushed conversation paused as Impa glanced over her shoulder at the girl.

"Five hours from the Hyrule-Aratea pass. From there we have another four hours until we reach Deten."

"Deten?" Caron asked.

"Aratea's capital. Where we're headed is just outside."

Malon looked across at her daughter in concern.

"You should try to get some sleep, darling. There's still a long way to go."

"No thanks," Caron replied glumly. "Even if I wanted to I couldn't. I still don't understand why we had to leave at midnight."

"The roads are empty, and no-one would be expecting the Royal Tutor to travel at night," Impa answered.

"Why's he with us anyway?" Caron grumbled. "It's not like he's any use to any of us."

"Do not be so quick to judge the old, Caron, especially not one so revered as Mentes. He's a very wise old man and means more in this than you could possibly fathom."

The Sheikah had implied it again, something was going on that was potentially very dangerous and Caron still had no idea what. Why on earth was no-one explaining anything to her? It was not as though she was some silly little girl, she was fourteen for Din's sake!

"What is going on?" she demanded. "Why are we going now? Why won't you tell me anything mother?"

Malon looked guiltily at her child over her shoulder.

"I haven't told you our plans to keep you safe. You know that I'm involved in the Revolution-"

"Why didn't you tell me that you were? Don't you trust me?"

"I didn't want you knowing. No-one could make you tell anything that you didn't know. I was doing it to protect you."

Impa shot the girl an icy look to silence the retort that was threatening.

"You will understand when you meet Her Highness," she said quietly.

"We're actually going to meet up with that traitor?"

She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth as the look Impa wore turned thunderous. Malon's eyes were wide with shock and she pulled the horse to a stop, halting the wagon in its tracks, jerking the sleeping tutor awake. Instinctively, Caron shrank backwards.

"What's going on? Are we there yet?" Mentes asked sleepily.

"No my friend, we aren't," Impa replied, not once taking her eyes from Caron.

"Then why have we stopped?"

The Sheikah drew herself to her full height and towered over the girl who cringed away from her.

"I cannot blame you for your opinion, after all they are the lies you've been fed from your beloved King and your teachers, and as much as I would like to cut out your tongue for such a revolting suggestion I will restrain myself. But know this, young miss. I will not tolerate anyone speaking against the true Queen of Hyrule."

Caron folded her arms and sulked, aware that all eyes were upon her.

"I won't apologise," she grumbled.

A sad sigh emerged from Mentes.

"I had hoped that I would never live to hear a slight upon my lady's name."

Malon clicked her tongue and flicked the whip, encouraging the horse to walk again. The party continued on in melancholy silence, with Caron wondering all the while just what was so great about the hallowed Princess Zelda that she could elicit such staunch supporters.

******

"Pay no heed to Braerwyn, for she is in the habit of mistrusting strangers," Tsilianth said warmly as she bent towards Tarrah to get a better look.

"Thou too wouldst find need for caution if the Greymalkin entered thy domain," Braerwyn bit back.

Conran sat back, looking in amazement at what was before him.

Tree nymphs.

Real, live tree nymphs.

He had not known what to make of Braerwyn, but he knew Tsilianth for what she was immediately. He and Tarrah had been brought to Tsilianth's glade and found it by the banks of a deep green pool, fed by a shallow brook that trickled vocally over pebbles in its path. It was there that they had become acquainted with Tsilianth. Younger than Braerwyn by two hundred and thirty eight years as Tsilianth had informed him, she was smaller than the older nymph, with golden-green skin and wild, wavy hair. Her appearance resembled a weeping willow tree, in particular her hair which was indistinguishable from the drooping branches of the willows surrounding the pool with slivers of green breaking up the snarls that were identified as leaves upon closer inspection. When she spoke, her voice rippled merrily like water and was full of life and laughter compared to Braerwyn's earthy tones.

Con watched as the willow nymph examined Tarrah's injuries critically, having removed the bolt from Tarrah's chest.

"The wound is not fatal, she only loses blood," Tsilianth said after a while. "The bolt has struck a rib and broken it upon impact. It is a miracle that it did not puncture her lung. Your friend is lucky."

"That's still not exactly reassuring," Con remarked.

Tsilianth smiled.

"You have spirit, young prince. I like you."

Braerwyn harrumphed.

"Would you pick me some of that moss?" the willow nymph asked of Conran.

Clumps of the spongy blue-green plant marbled the green carpet of the glade, creating a natural patchwork that was not necessarily unattractive. Doing as he was told, Con plucked a large handful of the stuff and dutifully presented it to Tsilianth.

"This moss contains earth magic," she explained. "It will help to heal the wound and cool any fever."

She applied the moss to Tarrah's wound, which had been bathed clean by the water from the pool. In her unconscious state, Tarrah groaned as the pad was applied to her wound. Satisfied that she had done enough, Tsilianth rose from the ground and turned her attention to the boy.

"I would best have a look at you too."

Conran failed to understand until she gestured to his hip. He glanced down, remembering his own wound. The bottom of his shirt was ruined by the slash and from his own blood that stained it.

"It's nothing, just a scratch," he complained.

Braerwyn laughed nearby, bitterly and without mirth.

"I findst it amusing what little pain men feel," she remarked.

Tsilianth ignored both of them and lifted the bottom of Conran's shirt to investigate.

"It is not deep, but even scratches can prove fatal if not cared for. The moss will help."

Con tore a strip from his shirt and used it to bind a tuft of moss to his injury, sucking a breath through his teeth as the cool, damp leaves stung the raw flesh. When he looked up, he realised that both Tsilianth and Braerwyn were looking at him critically.

"What?"

"Thou hast not offered us thy name," Braerwyn noted. "Art thou afraid?"

Con shook his head.

"No, I'm sorry. I was so worried about Tarrah that it must have slipped my mind."

He bowed his head respectfully in their direction.

"I am Prince Conran of Aratea."

"Thou liest!" 

"Braerwyn!"

"He is Hylian, canst thou not see it, Tsilianth? Sense it?"

"I am half-Hylian," Conran said quickly. "I did not lie to you Braerwyn and I do not now. My mother is Zelda, daughter of his late Majesty King Harkinian of Hyrule."

Braerwyn looked at him critically.

"For one of Aratean blood, thy affinity with magic is remarkably potent."

Conran looked confused.

"Braerwyn means no offence, Prince Conran," Tsilianth said quietly. "It is just that Arateans are not renowned for their magical sensitivity. Your aura touches us strongly, we have felt it since you entered this forest."

"What?" Con asked in surprise.

"Three strong magical entities entered here at dawn, yours is the least controlled but the second strongest. Who were you travelling with?"

"Tarrah, her father Arran, a fairy named Navi and a warrior called Link."

The two nymphs glanced at each other.

_"Fee torah estaer ni loth." _

_"Té no torah bae tsi nanque?" _

 Tsilianth looked long and hard Conran for a moment.

_"Entillon creer petaar torah tegranth."_

_"Teneth tegranth."___

"Excuse me," Conran ventured. "Is there a problem?"

"No problem," Braerwyn replied. "Thou art an enigma, boy."

"I am?"

Braerwyn nodded while Tsilianth looked lost in contemplation over something.

"Is Tarrah going to be alright?" Con asked, not knowing what to say after being dubbed an enigma.

"Sleep is the best medicine. She will get good rest here, Braerwyn and I will not let any harm come to those under our protection."

"In that case, can I leave her here for a while? I need to get back to the others, I'm worried about their safety. We were ambushed…"

"As thou have said," Braerwyn commented dryly. "There is nothing to be done, they still fight even now."

"What?"

"The fight carries on. Three are dead, but the fairy and three others remain."

Conran's face was agonised.

"Please, I have to help them! I can't wait for them to be picked off, I have to do _something_!"

Tsilianth's hand was on his shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"Good prince, there is nothing we can do. Your friends wanted you and the girl to flee the danger. If you go back, you will be dishonouring their wishes. It would be best for you to stay with us until the battle is done."

Con sank to the ground and took his head in his hands.

"This is all my fault…"

Tsilianth looked uncomfortable at the boy's distress and looked to Braerwyn for instruction. Braerwyn sighed and sat beside him.

"Thou must not blame thyself. If thy friends are good and true then they shall survive the fight. There are forces that make sure these things come to pass."

"You don't understand," he protested. "We were ambushed because they were after me. And now Tarrah's hurt…"

He closed his eyes and looked away.

"I'm such a coward," he whispered. "I can't even take care of myself, how am I meant to protect her?"

"You are tired," Tsilianth said gently. "It would best for you to get some sleep child. Sleep, things will be better in the morning."

"I won't sleep, I can't," he protested. "Not tonight."

"Then walk with me. There are things you should see," Tsilianth urged gently.

Looking at Braerwyn, who nodded, Con got to his feet and nodded in reluctant agreement. If he couldn't sleep, then he might as well find something to do. 

******

_The coppery smell of blood filled her nostrils, addictive in its scent and headily intoxicating. Its taste on her lips stirred her appetite, and she lapped up the residue around her mouth lazily, thirsting for more._

_The child in front of her clutched at her ruined arm with her blood stained fingers, her large brown eyes wide with horror as she backed away, initiating the chase. A gleeful snarl escaped her and she pounced, delighting in the power and the strength as her jaws closed on the girl's throat._

_And then it was those men…_

_This time they were stronger, more challenging prey to be stalked. But she was stronger now too, more than a match for the three of them. It had felt so good to taste blood upon her tongue again, to feel the joy of the kill and that exquisite thrill of being totally and utterly in control._

_It was addictive, like a poison that flowed through her. She would not be satisfied until she had taken her share._

_How had that thing **dared** to stop her? Oh, that was right. The pain. That sharp, intrusive pain that had interrupted her. And then there was the boy, she hadn't wanted to kill him. Her limbs had felt heavy and she wanted to sleep, and then she felt the power fading, leaving her._

_She wanted it back._

******

"You are troubled about the girl," Tsilianth said as she led Conran deep into the forest.

He nodded.

"How do you do that?"

"Know what you're thinking? It is not that hard, your face is perplexed and it had to be the girl or your friends that was causing you grief. I take it you did not know of her…condition."

The nymph watched as the boy's shoulders slumped and he shook his head.

"I had no idea that she was a demon, I'd never have thought-"

He was cut off by Tsilianth's bubbling laughter.

"She is not a demon Conran," she chuckled. "If she was she would never have been able to enter the heart of the forest. There is not much magic left in Izard, but what little there is lies in the domain of the nymphs. No demon may cross into our realm. There is no demon blood in her veins."

"But what about last night? She transformed into a big-cat Tsilianth, I saw it with my own eyes and so did Braerwyn!" Conran protested.

"I do not doubt that she did, but just because one changes one's appearance does not make them a demon. From what Braerwyn has said, Tarrah became an entity known as the Greymalkin and that would fit with what you have said. In old legends, it was a vengeful creature that answered the call of one who wished harm on a person. It takes over the form of the cursed on the night that the curse fell, only when the person leaves themselves open to its possession. In the case of Tarrah, it was because she was scared and angry and too preoccupied with her wound to fight it off. The Greymalkin took over the fight and changed her, but it abandoned her when it felt her weaken. If the host dies while the Greymalkin still inhabits their body then it dies with them, and it cannot afford for that to happen. It is a very hard curse to break."

Memories of Arran's tale flooded back to Conran at her words.

_He called down curses upon her, and upon me and Tarrah…_

"Could someone with no magic instigate such a curse?" he asked.

Tsilianth looked contemplative.

"It is possible, if it was their dying wish. What do you know that makes you ask?"

Conran relayed the story of Imelza's relationship with the corrupt mayor, which Tsilianth listened to intently.

"And the man Arran is alright, you say?" she asked when he was finished.

Con nodded.

"He hasn't turned into a giant cat."

"No and he would not, because he broke the curse upon himself by killing the one who laid it."

During the moment of silence that followed, Con's heart plummeted to his stomach.

"So there's no way that the curse can be lifted from Tarrah?"

Tsilianth pushed away a curtain of ivy from across their path.

"If there is then it would be through magic not of this world. We are here." 

Con looked at exactly where 'here' was supposed to be. There was a perfectly round clearing with a white marble ring in the centre of it. On closer inspection, the ring proved to be filled with water, clear and shimmering in the moonlight. Some strange energy pulsed in the air, setting his nerves tingling and the hairs on his arms on end. It was raw, magical power and it seemed to be emanating from the fountain.

"Is this a fairy fountain?" he asked quietly.

"Once, but that was long ago in the days when I was very young. It was home to a Great Fairy, but the magic in this forest faded too greatly to sustain her. It still fades, and someday we nymphs will diminish when it can no longer nourish us."

She crossed to the fountain and swept her long fingers through the water.

"This is just about the only place left in the forest where the magic is still strong. Beyond here and in our glades the forest is nothing but a shell of trees."

"But where's the magic gone to? It can't just vanish."

"It has been fading for the last sixteen years, we do not know how or why but it just has been."

Tsilianth sat on the edge of the fountain and beckoned for him to join her.

"There are powers in this water that enable me to see things," she said quietly. "It is a skill that none of my fellow nymphs know I have, for this reason that I have brought you here. There is something about you that I have never felt before, and I have known many."

Con frowned.

"What sort of things are you trying to see?"

"Your prophecy."

She smiled gently at him as he sat beside her.

"Every child is born with their own destiny. Some are simple like living a long, comfortable life with lots of children while others are extraordinary. I think that yours could be the latter."

The nymph saw a momentary flicker of discomfort cover the boy's face.

"I will not force you, the offer will remain. It is yours to take up as you wish."

For a while he considered it, thinking hard. Then he nodded.

"Go ahead."

******

Tarrah moaned as she opened her eyes and closed them immediately against the sun as it shone brightly on her face. She winced as she sat up slowly, feeling a strange sort of pounding in her head that irritated more than any headache should. She raised a hand to push her hair away from her face.

"So thou art awake."

Tarrah tensed, instantly wary of whatever was in the strange glade with her. She didn't recognise this place at all, in fact she was quite confident that she had not been here before she had blacked out.

Blacked out? How had _that_ happened? And-

"Where the hell are my clothes?"

She distinctly remembered that nakedness had not been an issue when she was awake. A cool breeze stirred her hair and caused her to shiver, so she wrapped the cloak she was draped in more tightly around her. The fabric was soft and expensive to the touch, and as she buried her nose underneath the cloth she realised that it smelt like Con. Suddenly memories of the previous night hit her like a punch to the gut and she became scared.

Con wasn't there.

"Conran? Con!"

"He is in the forest and shall return. Thou hast no need to be alarmed."

Tarrah turned sharply in the direction of the voice and hissed as a short pain gripped at her side. Her eyes widened in shock as she caught sight of a tall, silvery girl staring at her intently.

"Who are you? What have you done with Conran?" she demanded angrily, perturbed by the relaxed way the stranger was staring at her, almost analysing her.

"The prince is in the forest and is quite safe, thou has no need to be afraid for him."

Prince. There was that word again, that Graev man had referred to Conran as a prince the night before, Tarrah remembered. That couldn't be true, there was no way that Conran would have kept that from them all. But he hadn't denied it…

He couldn't really be a prince, could he?

Tarrah raised her hand to her head, wishing it wasn't throbbing so much.

"I am Braerwyn, and I have been instructed by thy friend to watch over thee. He shall return shortly."

Tarrah watched her suspiciously, unsure what to make of this Braerwyn creature.

"One would not think to look at thee that thou art a creature capable of killing," she mused.

"_What_?" Tarrah started in disbelief. "What did you just call me?"

"I called thee what thou art: a killer."

The girl glared at her and folded her arms solidly.

"I don't know where the hell you get off calling me that but-"

She was cut off as Phoenix appeared unexpectedly through the trees with Peony close behind him. Beside them walked Conran, accompanied by another strange girl. Con's face, previously occupied in a deeply contemplative frown, lit up at the sight of her and he smiled with a look of relief.

"You're awake," he said, sounding to Tarrah as though he wasn't trying to be too thrilled by the fact.

"What the hell happened last night?" she asked. "Where have you been?"

"Tsilianth had something to talk to me about," he explained, indicating Tsilianth with an incline of his head.

Tarrah had begun to glare for no apparent reason, as though she was expecting something. Conran was oblivious to this as he went to Peony and patted her shoulder.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here when you woke up, have you been awake long?"

"Nay," Braerwyn answered. "She woke just this moment."

"Oh." Con had begun to fish through his saddle bags for something and produced a fresh shirt and a pair of breeches. "Your old clothes are wrecked, I hope these will do."

She made no answer as she took the clothes from him, silently noting the fine quality of their cloth.

He couldn't be a prince…

"…can take you the shortest route out of the forest," Tsilianth was saying. "From there on you will have a short ride until you reach your destination."

"What?" Tarrah asked suddenly. "We can't ride without Arran and Link, where are they?"

Her headache had come back and was throbbing so much that she could hardly hear what Con was saying. It was making her irritable

"We can't risk going back in case the worst has happened. The best thing we can do now, best for all of us, is to keep going towards Aratea. They know that's our goal, and Tsilianth can take us on a shortcut that will get us there at best a day ahead of any pursuers. It's what both of them wanted us to do-"

"Don't talk about them like they're dead!" Tarrah snapped. "Why didn't you go back and help them?"

"I wanted to I-"

"Or weren't they good enough for your high standards?" she demanded. "Are you too good to dirty your hands saving mere peasants?"

Con's face paled.

"Tarrah-"

"You fucking lied to us!"

"I did not, I never said I _wasn't _a prince-"

"I thought you were different, but no! You turn out to be a god damned _prince_! You selfish bastard, you knew that they were going to go after you-"

"I am _not _selfish!" Con argued. "I have just spent the last two months being hunted because I am trying to save my mother and the country that she loves, I've nearly been killed more times than I can remember and the only reason I didn't go back for Link and Arran last night was because I was too damn worried about _you _and your transforming into a savage big cat that killed three people!"

Tarrah opened her mouth to argue and found no words to answer.

"I _what_?"

Con threw his hands into the air in exasperation, irrationally furious.

"They'll explain it to you. I need sleep."

And with that he stormed off, leaving a perplexed and shaken Tarrah at the mercy of two equally perplexed nymphs. Tsilianth cleared her throat.

"This isn't going to be easy for you to hear…"

******

Dayne had left one of the foremen of the Duchess' estate to keep an eye on the intruders while he himself had been appointed a much more important task. Zelda had told him to ride out and meet a cart that was due to arrive, a cart that he knew to be carrying his aunt and his mistress' old tutor. There was no way they could ride up to the Keep with the current situation as it was, it would be suicide. The cart needed protection, and though he had no doubt of his aunt's skills as a fighter, he knew full well that she alone would be unable to hold off a full squad of men by herself. He would ride to their aid and bring them to Aratea safely, bringing no harm to any of them if he possibly could.

The afternoon was bright and muggy, promising the onslaught of a storm. Dayne cursed the humidity silently as he saddled his piebald Balius for the task ahead. The horse rolled his eyes as his Sheikah rider tightened his girth.

"I'm sorry my friend," he said quietly as he caressed the beast's muscled neck. "Just this one task and I'll take you swimming, I promise."

He led the horse out into the yard, passing a hand through his sweat dampened locks of white before swinging into Balius' saddle. The door to the keep opened slightly, and a figure emerged squinting into the sunlight.

"I'll return before sunset," he assured the spectator. 

They nodded and smiled.

"Take care."

Smiling back, Dayne squeezed the gelding into a trot as he headed in the direction of the side road.

******

"I forgive you for not telling me that you were a prince," Tarrah said as Con reappeared in the glade.

"It's alright," he replied. "I should have told you right away."

The pair of them were silent for a while, listening to the chorus of birdsong that surrounded them and the sounds of the forest.

"Did I really become… that creature they told me about?" Tarrah asked quietly.

Con nodded, not knowing any other way to reply.

"Why can't I remember anything?" she whispered. "I just blacked out, and then I woke up and I-"

Her face drained of all colour and her eyes became wide and haunted. She scrabbled backwards and away from Conran, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Tarrah? What's wrong?"

"No, no, no!" she repeated. "It couldn't have, it couldn't have been me!"

She hung her head, screwing her eyes shut as an expression of agony crossed her face.

"But it was… that dream… it was… it makes sense."

"What makes sense?" Con asked, sitting beside her and draping his arm over her shoulder. "Are you OK?"

"You shouldn't care about me!" she snapped. "I'm a murderous demon!"

"Don't say that," he soothed. "You saved my life. Those guys wouldn't have hesitated to kill both you and me."

Tarrah was quiet, processing the information with an expressionless face.

"But Roza wasn't going to kill me…"

Conran blinked.

"Roza? Who's Roza?"

Tarrah looked straight ahead and swallowed, letting a flat monotone take over.

"When I was little, there was one girl in the troupe that everyone worshipped. She was a couple of years older than me and her name was Rozalia. She was the most beautiful girl, everyone said so. Her parents claimed she was going to be far more beautiful that Imelza, my mother, so naturally Roza delighted in telling me that every time we crossed paths. If she'd left it just at that I wouldn't have minded, but it was her constantly reminding me that I didn't have a proper family. I didn't have a mother. Arran didn't like her enough to marry her, and he didn't love me enough to be a _real_ father. I wasn't even a real girl in her eyes because I wore boy's clothes. The taunts got worse and worse, I was only seven and she made my life a misery. But no-one believed me when I told them because she was so sweet, butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, and if she had been mean to me I had probably deserved it. I hated that, and I started to hate her too."

Con looked at her sadly, feeling sympathy and understanding towards her plight. In his head he saw a small blonde boy standing in isolation away from a group of jeering older boys, trying to keep a brave face while inwardly he seethed and longed to be included.

"One night we'd just moved into a new camp. Most of the kids were asleep, but I couldn't at all. I was in my bunk when the door opened and someone came in and began rummaging through my box. It was where I kept my special stuff, like the first tooth I lost, a rock shaped like a fish, an arrow head, stupid stuff like that, but there was a necklace I kept in there that was Imelza's. Arran gave it to her when I was born, and Esperanza gave it to me after she died, but said I couldn't wear it until I was older. Anyway, the person took something from my box and left, and when I looked I realised they'd taken the necklace. I was so angry, I took off after them and finally caught up with them in the woods around the village. It was Roza, and she was wearing my necklace like some sort of triumphant thief. I asked for it back, calling her every bad name under the sun, but she just laughed and said that it deserved to belong to her because she was much more beautiful than I was ever going to be, and beautiful things belonged to beautiful people. I don't remember what happened then, but I remember waking up and my uncle Farago was there with all the other men, and I was wrapped up in his cloak. People were angry and Roza's father and brother were crying. Farago tried to hide it from me, but I saw it as we went back to camp. Roza was… she…"

Con saw that Tarrah's eyes had become damp and she was swallowing uncomfortably.

"They said she'd been attacked by a Wolfos, she was covered in blood and her throat was all torn. It was her face that scared me most, it was just terrified. Everyone was amazed that I hadn't been killed too, and they all wanted to know what had happened and I didn't know, I just couldn't remember. Esperanza said it was a reaction to the shock, that I'd blanked it out and to force me to remember would be barbaric. Everyone agreed it was a terrible tragedy and we moved on, never going back to that camp in case any more children got taken. The thing is though, when I woke up I was wearing the necklace."

Her shoulders began to shake and she burst into convulsive sobs. Instantly, Con's arms were around her and holding her close in a hug. Tarrah wept against his shoulder and clung to him, gasping for breath as her guilt overcame her in an outburst of grief.

******

Braerwyn led the small party through the winding path of trees, occasionally glancing over her shoulder in the direction of the others. Tsilianth followed while behind her came Phoenix and Peony, being led through the trees by their riders.

"We shall watch for your friends and offer what aid we can should they cross into our domain," Tsilianth was saying. "There is little that we can do, but whatever we can do shall be done."

"I thank you both," Con said graciously. "Your kindness will not be forgotten."

Tarrah was very quiet following her outburst, she felt exhausted and felt her ribs hurting with every step that took them closer to the outskirts of the forest.

"We shall not forget thee, Prince of Aratea," Braerwyn replied. "When so many of the nights are the same, they that are remarkable become memorable."

"It is the same with people," Tsilianth agreed, flashing a meaningful smile at Conran. "You will not forget what I told you?"

"No," Conran replied, his mood suddenly changing to become melancholic.

Tarrah was puzzled by this exchange but said nothing.

******

"So what _did_ Tsilianth tell you?"

It was the first thing that Tarrah had said since leaving the forest- since her confession- and she was surprised at how quiet the sound of her voice was now that they were in an atmosphere more sonorous than the forest had been. Conran cast one last look over his shoulder at the forest behind them before looking ahead at the familiar landscape that stretched before him.

"She said that there were two kings with no name born on the same day, and of those two kings one would rise to shatter harmony while the other restored it. She said that I was going to rise to greatness someday, and that my father's blood would prove itself once I stopped being afraid of it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I wish I knew."

But he would know shortly. His mother had a knack for deciphering cryptic messages like that.

In an unspoken agreement, the pair urged the horses onto a trot as they rode across the plain towards Deten.

******

Link: New level of suckiness. Really, I didn't think it was possible.

A.A: The green eyed monster raises his head.

Link: Generally, if you're writing Zelda fanfiction, you have to include me. It doesn't work if you just stick a load of original people in and don't include me.

Navi: Wow, I think we should get a bigger room so we can accommodate Link's ego.

A.A: You wouldn't have worked in that chapter. Besides, you've got a couple of good ones coming up soon. 

Link: I do?

A.A: Yup.

A.N. Here because I didn't want to spoil the TNs (tree nymphs!) by mentioning this with the early blurb. The language that Braerwyn and Tsilianth speak is nymphish, and I invented it. I wanted it to sound a little like elvish ('cause it's so pretty) but more unusual. Because I do not have as much time as Tolkien I probably won't be developing it further, but I have translations of what Braerwyn and Tsilianth say. I'm not publishing the translations because it hints at something and then that would spoil what I call Ultra Secret Plot Development Alpha. Coming in the second book of Vagabond.

When I say book, I don't mean a sequel. Vagabond is going to be perhaps my longest single fic offering yet, and I'm splitting it into three sections. Currently, we're in the first section (Vagabond: The Beginning- because I can't think of a better title!) and the second section will begin in about, ooh, three chapters. Maybe four, depends how carried away I get.

Questions and Answers.

This one's been asked a couple of times and I thought that I'd made it fairly clear at the start of the fic. Oh well, suppose not!

Q. Is Link Olaran's son in this?

A. No. Olaran isn't in this in any shape or form. I'm debating whether to have Link knowing any of his origins, but I don't think he will. Book Two will cover this more, but just assume that he is for all intents and purposes an orphan with nothing but his name. Vagabond is in a separate universe from the Dark Risings Saga (it has a name!) and the only thing it has in common with it is the canon characters. Sorry!

On a side note, I've blown the dust off Blood of the Hero and am tapping away when I get the chance, but don't expect it up for a while. I'm just too busy darn it!


	10. The Fields

Disclaimer: Legend of Zelda is property of Nintendo. Link doesn't belong to me. If he did, I would be using him to hunt down and kill the evil Fundy monster, the bane of my existence and resident pain in the arse. Then I'd send him after Tony Blair…

A.N: Yes- it took a long time coming. No- I have no excuse better than writer's block. Yes I will try to be quicker updating next time. Not been an easy time for me at the moment, would rather not go into it. Good news: I got an offer from Exeter and provided I get three big fat Bs in August, I'm heading west. Whoo!

One of the reviews has confused me, and accused me of writing a Mary Sue.

_Moi__?___

Now forgive me if I'm wrong, but isn't a Mary Sue supposed to be a flat, two-dimensional character who everybody loves, falls in love with the main protagonist who returns her affection, holds the key to everyone's happiness and the bad guy's downfall and also happens to be effortlessly beautiful? One of those ridiculously unbelievable flawless characters that should never appear in fiction because they'd never appear in real life?

_Tarrah?!___

Oh, and it's Tarrah with an 'H' by the way, and it has been since Chapter 2…

Sorry if this is pedantic, but Tarrah is _not_ a Mary Sue. Link is not in love with her; she is not perkier than Malon, she is not more beautiful that Zelda, she is not an undiscovered Sage and she does not hold the key to Ganondorf's destruction. She's a fifteen year old girl with a rather unfortunate curse that will end up generating particles of Tarrah, Arran and Conran angst. She isn't flawless, and her flaws certainly aren't cute and endearing. No-one's perfect, I've learnt that over the past seventeen years. I have to say, I never really pictured Tarrah as the one to get dubbed Mary Sue (if any of my characters had to get that awful title), if anyone I thought that Conran might be named as a potential Marty Stu… Oh well. Shoot me if he is, OK?

Tonight ladies and gentlemen, the usual end of chapter footnote will be joined by a new party, who makes their debut in this chapter. Can you guess who it is yet?

Update 16/6/04: The fight scene was too short, so I've added a couple of hundred words to make it better. Hope this improves it!

Chapter 10: The Fields

Link cursed mentally as three of Graev's men took off in pursuit of Conran and Tarrah but there was nothing he could do about it. Graev was too dangerous to be ignored for one moment. His remaining underling was now taking on Arran in an attempt to distract the assassin's opponent, unaware that once something had Link's (and Navi's) attention that they would not be escaping it so easily. Arran snarled angrily and took up the fight eagerly, clearly keen to get rid of the man and go after Tarrah.

"Cheap tricks get you nowhere," Link growled. "It takes more than that to throw me."

Graev threw all of his superior bodyweight into his next cut, a poorly timed horizontal slash that Link blocked easily. He grunted as his sword impacted against Link's and was knocked back as his momentum was repelled.

"Heh."

Link took up the offensive, thrusting his sword at Graev's belly to test the assassin's defences. Graev blocked, but was not quick enough to deflect the blow that Link aimed at his shoulder. The sword cut deeply, hitting bone. Graev took it with a hiss of pain and responded by flinging a blow at his opponent's cheek. Link ducked, but his move was anticipated as he received a kick to the midriff. Winded, he staggered backwards and missed the majority of a vertical slash to the arm. The tip of Graev's blade cut into his left arm, cutting diagonally across the bicep. Not letting the lancing pain throw him, Link retaliated, charging the gloating swordsman and feinting to the right at the last minute. He spun on his heel and brought his sword down across Graev's back. The loose black fabric of Graev's shirt flapped open, showing a heavily scarred back surrounding the new, angry gash that oozed blood freely. Graev let out a yell and flung his head backwards as a weapon, but Link was ready and leapt out of the way. He grabbed a fistful of the assassin's red hair and flung him away, sufficiently disorientating him for Link to kick his back. Graev tumbled down to the ground and rolled out of the way as Link's sword whistled past his ear. Large chunks of hair lay upon the grass as evidence of the encounter.

Angered, Graev kicked himself up off the ground and went for Link again, this time with more luck. He aimed for Link's neck, trying to slice open his jugular but as he did so Link leapt out of the way. The blade sliced his cheek and sent blood pouring down his face, staining his shirt and colouring the tips of his hair crimson. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Link's right hand joined his left as he swung his sword at Graev's belly, but at the last moment he slashed downward suddenly and cut across the thigh. Graev dropped to one knee, panting, and then kicking out with a sweep of his wounded leg. Link wobbled as it clipped his ankles and jumped backwards, growling like a Wolfos. The assassin took up the offensive again, meeting Link's blade time and time again and gaining no ground, the two weapons dancing a deadly routine of death. Link blocked, Graev parried and tried to slash under the sword; Graev blocked, Link feinted to the left and tried to knock the blade from the assassin's hands. Using his bodyweight to his advantage, Graev began to throw himself behind each assault, forcing Link backwards with every step. Link felt himself losing ground, and realised that if he didn't think fast then this duel was about to go down entirely the wrong direction. His eyes narrowed and he glowered at the older man, seething with hatred. Blood thundered in his head, his heart hammered against his chest but the adrenaline bubbled and sparked, igniting his lust for victory. At the same time something else dwelt within his psyche, something that was entirely inappropriate given the situation.

_Am I sadistic for finding this fun?_

Graev threw a wild punch and missed, roaring in rage.

_Gods I have a sick sense of humour. _

Link's mouth quirked into a grim, sardonic smile as he inclined his head slightly, gesturing for Navi to join him.

"Stalfos tactic three," he murmured.

Navi beamed with excitement at his suggestion and zoomed over to Graev's head, shooting a trail of bluish white light about her. She flew a rapid spiral around his head, flitting back and forth erratically like a fly trapped in a glass jar. With Navi fluttering above his opponent's head as a distraction, Link swung his sword in a swift horizontal arch at Graev's head. Spotting it too late, Graev mistimed his duck and was hit by the razor sharp tip of Link's sword above the eyebrow. Dazed, he staggered backwards with blood flowing over into his eye and mixing with his hair.

"By the Void, where did you learn to fight?" he growled, panting for breath.

"Just call it natural talent," Link retorted. "Something you wouldn't know anything about."

Graev snarled and flung himself forward, stabbing out with his sword. Link batted it away with his weapon and ducked as his opponent changed tactics and began taking vicious swipes at his head. Link took it upon himself to change tack and ran straight towards Graev, shouldering him backwards and ramming him into a tree. The bark cracked behind the force of the assault, as the back of Graev's skull smashed against the hard wood behind it. Graev slumped, stunned. Link took the opportunity to catch his breath, wiping the blood from his cheek.

Navi was momentarily distracted by a yowl from Arran's direction where he had been struck on the temple by the elbow of his adversary. Link glanced after her at the exact moment that Arran kicked the man's legs out from under him and finished him off by cutting his throat. Link tightened his grip on his sword and turned…

Graev lunged forward and rammed a concealed dagger into Link's right shoulder and brought the blade diagonally downwards, tearing into tissue. Navi flashed red and flew at Graev's face, sprinkling red dust in his eyes and blinding him as the sparks irritated and stung at his eyes. It was the distraction that Link needed and he roughly shouldered the man away from him, giving him enough space to bring his sword around for the final blow.

Graev backhanded Navi savagely, batting her away with such force that she collided with a sapling. It gave him just enough time to recover sufficient vision to see a golden light glowing from the back of Link's left hand and the glowing blue blade of his sword looming towards his neck.

* * *

Sibella watched from behind the door curtain as Titus reclined on a chaise, eating a bunch of grapes in a carefree, idle manner. He looked totally at ease, calm and oblivious to the situation that was going on behind his back. She sighed and let the folds of velvet fall back into place. She had to go and speak with Dezauras.

As she walked through the corridors of the castle, she thought long and hard over the events that had transpired over the last twelve hours. Since Titus had commented on Mentes' absence, he had also been stood up by the ranch girl Caron who had, according to her grandfather, gone with her mother to visit her cousins by the coast. Titus had erupted in a hot fury and had only calmed down after a severe talking to from Dezauras, who had voiced his displeasure at the boy's 'immature and un-kingly attitude.' As she had heard the words Sibella had been forced to hold back a shudder. It always alarmed her when someone went head to head with her son, and it alarmed her all the more when Titus had in turn gone head to head against Dezauras. Incensed by Mentes' disappearance, the minister had locked himself in his rooms immediately afterwards. _That_ had incensed Sibella.

Biting back the urge to sigh, the queen picked up her skirts and walked silently away from the drapes. Dezauras needed to be pacified, and as always it was she who would have to iron out the creases in the minister's relationship with her son. Titus, despite his laid back appearance, would be brooding right now and plotting some humiliating way to publicly belittle Dezauras. Sibella had learnt the hard way that very few were likely to win when they chose to fight that battle, the minister's wit was too sharp for that. It had always been so, in fact it had been that trait in him that had won him such great favour with her late husband. Harkinian had always been amused by the verbal banter that Dezauras induced and how the younger man would succeed in effortlessly riling the other members of the cabinet. It was strange, she thought, but to her knowledge only two people had been able to come away unscathed from Dezauras' sharpness and they were both female. Although she herself had tried several times to put him down, only Zelda could destroy Dezauras' comebacks with unnatural ease and style.

Sibella had never been a fool. There were those who accused her of being unintelligent, but that was only because she encouraged that perception of her. Being too clever brought to much suspicion and jealousy, particularly in a woman. There was safety in ignorance, one could see and hear much more than they let on. She remembered the outrage that had accompanied the knowledge of her cousin's intelligence and how it had been regarded as disgraceful that a woman, of all creatures, could be openly allowed to flaunt her knowledge the way that the princess had. Sibella knew that the only reason it had been frowned upon so heavily was because those who spread such opinions were obscenely jealous. She herself had always been envious of the renown which accompanied her cousin's talents, but only because they were so greatly admired and desired by Dezauras.

If there was one thing that Sibella loathed, it was having any woman stand in the way of what she wanted.

* * *

Link sat panting beneath a tree with his back against the branch. Glancing down at the knife still imbedded in his chest, he wrapped his fingers around the hilt and wrenched it clear with a cry of pain.

"Shit…"

Arran watched the scene with eyes wide with shock, relief and concern. Gingerly he walked past the fallen body of the dead man and paused momentarily to look at its face. It was surprisingly calm, albeit pale with glassy eyes rolled back in the skull. Arran frowned, wondering whether or not all severed heads looked that calm.

"Arran, would you stop gawking at that and get some red potion out of the packs?" Navi asked squeakily.

Blinking at the fairy's words, Arran dragged his attention back to the living. Link's face was almost grey beneath the tree. He swallowed as the abundance of blood staining Link's chest became apparent and he felt momentarily woozy in its wake.

"Hey," Link rasped. "Don't faint on me. If I can stay conscious then so can you."

Arran smiled weakly at the joke and dug through the packs for the aforementioned potion. Link drained the contents and slumped against the bark, his eyes closed.

"Link!" Navi cried.

He opened one eye wearily.

"I'm not dead, just give me a moment. And call the horses."

Navi nodded, terrified as Arran ran off to find the horses. Her shoulder ached from where she had crashed but she had no desire to complain about it. Something wasn't right about Link's wound, the potion's effects should have been clearly visible by now.

* * *

Caron knelt on the grass next to a small pond by the roadside. The pond was small and although shaded had been reduced to little more than a puddle by the summer drought. What little water there was teemed with the presence of a host of pond life. Water boatmen skidded across the glassy surface and small minnows rose to the surface before disappearing back into the murk below in a flash of silver.

"One can lose hours by doing that."

The girl jumped at the voice of the old tutor and immediately adopted her customary frown.

"No you can't," she muttered.

Mentes chuckled and eased his old bones down onto the sun-baked earth. Impa and Malon were watering the horse and talking quietly between themselves, occasionally taking a bite to eat from the bread that they had set out for lunch.

"When I was a lad, there used to be a fabulous old pond around the back of my parents' house. All of the children in the village would come wading when the afternoons were hot, sometimes they'd swim too." Mentes allowed himself another chuckle in his nostalgia. "The best time was in late spring, when the frogspawn had hatched. All the tadpoles would squirm between your toes and make you squeal aloud in shocked delight. One day though the biggest pike you have ever seen appeared and began picking off the wildlife one by one. No one knew how it got there, but we all knew that it had to go, so one evening we all got together with our nets and waited. Eventually it appeared, and we threw everything we had into catching it. A lad named Feph had the tip of his finger bitten off and half of the nets were ruined beyond repair, but by the time the sun went down the pike was dead. We all came to value that pond higher after we realised how close we were to losing it, and we ensured that nothing like that ever happened again."

Caron frowned.

"So?"

Mentes sighed and cast a handful of crumbs into the water, enticing the fish to the surface.

"A lot of the time, Miss Caron, a change can be for the better, but sometimes it can be for the worse. I think it is high time that our beloved homeland underwent a change, but which sort would you prefer for it to be?"

He raised himself from the earth and walked over to the others, leaning heavily on his walking stick. Caron looked back at the water where the fish were competing for Mentes' crumbs. Smiling, she dipped the tips of her fingers into the water and was bitterly disappointed to see the fish disappear to the depths from whence they came.

"Impa!"

The Sheikah woman tensed at the sound of her name and spun rapidly to trace the source of the voice. She shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun, one hand placed on the long knife at her hip. A horse crested the hilltop and cantered down towards them. As it drew closer, Impa's expression slipped to one of acute surprise.

"Dayne?"

Caron had retreated to her mother's side and watched with fascination akin to fear at the appearance of the second Sheikah. Dayne swung himself from Balius' saddle and patted the gelding's neck, allowing him to crop at the grass as he approached his aunt, who he took aside.

"Good, you're all unharmed," he said under his breath as he looked at them all fleetingly before continuing. "We've got to move quickly. There's a party of soldiers watching the Keep for the prince, the princess doesn't think you'll get in without trouble."

"Why would they be looking for Conran?" Impa asked. "And why are _you_ back so soon?"

"Conran must have overheard his mother talking to me about the task. I can only guess that he took it upon himself to retrieve the Will himself."

Impa looked at him, aghast.

"Of all the reckless, foolish things to do," she muttered. "Zelda must be frantic."

"She's not good," Dayne sighed. "But she can't afford to show how worried she is. We believe that someone is working against us in Deten, all the shoes were removed from our horses the night Conran left. How he managed to get so far on his own two feet I don't know."

"Sheer bloody mindedness and stupidity," Impa replied, shaking her head. "Has he been in touch?"

Dayne shook his head.

"No. Only the gods know if he's safe."

He was silent for a moment, regarding the wagon and its cargo.

"We shall have to be swift, I can't tell how quickly we'll be intercepted. Wrel's troops have been getting restless."

Impa took in his report carefully, scanning the surrounding country for anything untoward.

"Right. We move now then."

Dayne nodded.

"Somehow I knew you were going to take that approach."

* * *

Parvis had found his current mission particularly boring. Camping had never appealed to him, especially not for long periods of time, and so when he had been told that he was required to spend an indefinite amount of time camped out in a copse in view of Aratea Keep he was mildly irritated to say the least.

Wrel had assembled the men just after dawn, telling them that a wagon was coming from Hyrule that must be intercepted at all costs. These orders were fresh from Lord Dezauras himself and were to be followed to the letter: there were to be no survivors. Parvis had been put in command of the squad, who had disguised themselves as mounted bandits to avoid awkward questions should they be asked.

There were six of them, dressed in hoods and armed with bows, knives and swords. The swords were a last resort, Wrel had insisted. The uniform blade of the Hylian army was too recognisable to risk using in public, not that any of their victims would be left to identify them.

Parvis was exhausted with the tedium of this task. He had been one of the four men with Wrel when they were tracking the princess' son and had a nasty pessimistic feeling that they were not going to succeed in stopping him, particularly if that man was still with him. There was something about him that reminded Parvis of a young recruit he had trained with, one who had been bullied to the extremes by Wrel because of his unnatural talent with the sword. No matter how hard Wrel had tried to break him he had always come back twice as strong with a little extra fuel thrown onto the fire of his disgust for the corrupt captain. Although Parvis had reacted otherwise at the time, he held a quiet respect for anyone who could humiliate his commander.

"Sir, Aeson has sighted the wagon," one of the men reported.

"Excellent, tell the others for me Tovi."

"But sir…" Tovi hesitated, looking pained. "It's carrying women and an old man."

Parvis closed his eyes and fought the screaming of his conscience.

"We have to follow orders. Ready the men."

Tovi rode away, looking disgusted at the heartlessness of his superior.

_Goddesses forgive me for this,_ Parvis prayed.

The wagon came in sight and one of the men to his right loosed the first arrow. It fell short of its target and thudded into harness of the cart horse. Whinnying, it backed up nervously and tossed its head. This served well enough to warn the passengers. The red-haired woman who drove produced a bow from beneath her seat and handed it to the girl in the back before tapping the horse's flanks with a whip to send it into a canter. The dray thundered away, defended from behind by a man on a piebald. The white haired woman who had been sitting up front vaulted onto the back of the horse behind its rider and produced barked out an order to him. As the wagon went in one direction, the piebald closed in upon the hidden troops.

Parvis lowered his raised arm and then flooded out from their hiding place like swarm of hornets. The woman began flicking her right hand in their direction, letting fly with a barrage of small darts. They hit one of the younger men full in the throat and he tumbled from the saddle, blood bubbling from his neck.

"Aim for the woman, she's the Sheikah!" Parvis ordered.

In an instant a barrage of arrows flew towards the piebald, which veered to the left under the control of the male. The Sheikah woman raised her hand and all the arrows in her vicinity were engulfed in a cloak of darkness and disappeared.

"Shadow magic," Parvis breathed. "Hold your fire and advance to the right! Aeson, Reppa, go after the cart!"

They followed their command enthusiastically, spurring their mounts onward. Aeson and Reppa tore off after the cart, whooping and kicking to power their horses into a gallop. The piebald cantered towards the charging horses, its ears flat against its skull as its master drew a dagger and threw in into the chest of one of Pavis' men, an elderly man named Gable. He fell backwards from the saddle, coming to lie motionless in the scrubby grass. In a rage, Parvis took his bow and at the white haired man, missing him by inches but grazing the Sheikah woman's cheek. She hissed with pain and levelled her blood red gaze on him, eyes wild with hatred.

"So Sheikah can be harmed," Parvis mused.

Encouraged by this discovery, he took up the charge with his sword drawn. He ignored the scream of pain as his last man fell and focused on the Sheikah woman. Her eyes were still on him, and he realised too late that this was not a good thing. The piebald turned on the forehand and charged towards him. The Sheikah raised her right hand and Parvis felt himself choking. Glancing down, he saw a shadowy hand grasping his throat, the exact shape that the Sheikah was making with hers. He closed his eyes and let death come up to claim him, knowing that his time was up.

No victim had ever lived to tell his tale when consumed by shadow magic.

* * *

"We've not got long to go now," Conran told Tarrah as they cantered through a browning meadow. "This land belongs to my cousin Philoetius, another five miles and we hit Deten."

Tarrah smiled, glad to finally get some good news.

"So what happens when we get there?"

"We eat, and then we sleep, then we eat some more."

Tarrah burst out laughing and shook her head.

"You're in ridiculously good spirits."

"Am I? I guess it's because I can finally afford to relax once I get back. But we've got to get there in one piece first."

"Why shouldn't we?"

Conran sighed, slowing Peony to a trot as they joined the road. The mare shook her head in protest but did as she was asked.

"It's something that Link told me back in Fentar. There's a minister in Hyrule called Dezauras who sent men after me when I left Aratea, and he was responsible for sending Graev after us too. He doesn't want my mother to get hold of her father's Will and has been trying to kill me."

"Yeah, you said."

"He's posted a guy called Wrel to watch the Keep, my home, and we've still got to worry about him. I have no idea what we're going to find when we get there. I've crossed his path before, I just hope I can…Tarrah?"

She had pulled Phoenix up and was sitting stock still in the saddle with a perplexed frown creasing her brow.

"What is it?" Con persisted.

"Blood," she remarked. "Freshly spilled."

Upon seeing Conran's startled expression, she softened hers and set about explaining.

"I think it's part of the… curse. I never understood why, but whenever the moon waned I could sense things better."

"Like sensing things magically?"

"No, as in my senses were enhanced. I could see and hear things better than normal, and now I can smell blood."

Con made a mental note to ask his mother about were-beast curses when they were reunited.

"Do you know where it's coming from?" he asked.

"Well how am I supposed to know that? I'm not perfect!"

She laughed at Con's startled, crestfallen look.

"Sorry."

"No problem, I was just wondering. I mean, it could be the others and…"

He trailed off as Tarrah held up a hand.

"That was a horse," she remarked.

"What was a horse?"

Not answering, Tarrah nudged Phoenix into a canter and took off down the road. Sighing, Con encouraged Peony to follow.

"I suppose the dark recesses of her mind are supposed to remain a mystery to us," he told the horse.

"Oi!"

Something told Conran that he had to be very careful what he said when Tarrah was at her most beastly.

As they crested the hill, Tarrah pulled Phoenix to an abrupt halt and stared at the scene unfolding before her. For one brief moment she thought that they were going to be too late. A pair of masked riders were chasing a wagon and a girl with red hair was trying to hold them off with a bow.

"Con, what are we gonna do? Should we help them?"

Conran was very still in the saddle, squinting down the hill in the direction of the stricken wagon.

"Damn it…"

"Con!"

He spurred Peony into a canter, trying to take his sword from its scabbard. Steering was difficult with his left hand, so he kept his reins in his right while handling the sword with his left. It surprised him to find that it balanced far better in that hand than it did in his usual sword hand.

Phoenix took up the chase automatically as Tarrah tied a knot in her reins. Looking at her companion for assurance, she cried out loudly to attract the attention of the bandits as Phoenix sped towards them. One of the pair began to canter towards her on his horse, which she noticed was smaller than her stallion. Dropping her reins, she pulled Conran's hunting knife from its holder on her saddle and held it up, encouraging a burst of speed from Phoenix whilst steering him with her legs. Her opponent realised too late that he was on a collision course with them, and tried in vain to move his horse. Phoenix's shoulder slammed against them and Tarrah swiftly drew her knife across the bandit's throat, a knot of guilt twisting in her stomach as he fell to the ground. This time she had no Greymalkin to excuse the blood she spilt.

The other bandit was still hassling the wagon, so Con took up the chase. Peony stretched out her neck and ate up the distance, fast closing upon the fleeing horse. A randomly fired arrow shot past his ear from the girl's bow and Con ground his teeth in irritation. If she couldn't shoot someone from that range then she had no business with a bow in the first place. The rate she was going, it was more likely she'd hit _him _before she got her target.

"For Nayru's sake stop shooting, I'll get him!" he shouted.

The girl gasped and the bandit glanced over his shoulder at the pursuing teen.

"Shit!"

He narrowly avoided Conran's sword as it swung over his head in an arc, but wasn't as lucky as he ended the swipe in a downwards cut that clipped his shoulder bone. Expelling some more colourful language, he kicked his tired horse on and pulled it roughly around to face the boy. He tried to reach for his own sword, but was stopped by something plunging into his belly. His vision hazy, he made out the sight of a sword in his gut as he fell sideways from the horse, collapsing limply to the ground after his head bounced upon impact with the baked earth.

Peony slowed to a walk and then stopped as Conran dismounted and went to retrieve his sword. Tarrah and Phoenix trotted up behind him.

"Is he dead?"

Conran glanced down at the still twitching body and forced his sword back through his corpse to make sure.

"I hope so."

Tarrah turned suddenly in her saddle and narrowed her eyes.

"Damn, here come the reinforcements," she growled. "Heads up Con, there's another two horses coming this way, a bay and a piebald."

Conran vaulted into Peony's saddle and took up his sword again. At this stage, the wagon had stopped and the woman driving it was staring at the pair of them, especially Conran, with great interest before laughing.

"It's Impa and Dayne. Don't worry, they're with us."

Con jumped.

"Dayne? As in, quarter Sheikah Dayne in the employ of the Duchess of Aratea?"

He spotted Balius before his the woman could answer.

"What's going on?" Tarrah asked.

"Prince Conran," the old man in the back of the cart said said, startling the object of his attention. "We're friends of your mother's. Dayne rode out as a bodyguard should anyone attack us and was escorting us to Aratea Keep should anyone attack us…"

As he spoke, Impa and Dayne came within earshot of the cart. Malon stood up on her seat and waved at them.

"Look what we've found!"

Dayne passed a hand through his white hair and stared at the two teens, particularly Conran, who was in truth the last person he expected to see. His aunt stood shoulder to shoulder with him, looking as surprised as he was.

"Dayne!" Con cried, "Dayne, what's going on? Is my mother alright?"

"Conran…" Impa breathed, looking at him intently.

He looked back at her, his eyes fiery with impatience and concern. The girl beside him cast an apprehensive glance around the group and remained tense, flicking her glance from person to person. Impa evaluated her carefully before answering for her nephew.

"Prince Conran, your mother is fine apart from almost becoming sick with worry about you," she replied tersely. "Why did you endanger yourself so foolishly?"

Conran felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment.

"Miss Impa, it's good to see you again," he replied politely.

_Trying to skirt around the question if it doesn't suit him_, Impa thought. _Just like his father._

"I am sure that you will tell me later," she sighed. "Right now it is imperative that we get you back to your mother as swiftly as we can. Wrel is staking out the Keep."

"I know," Con muttered glumly.

"How the hell do you know that?" Dayne asked.

"We met up with a Gerudo in Fentar, she filled us in on the situation. May I introduce you to my friend Tarrah? Tarrah, this is my friend Dayne and Miss Impa of the Sheikah clan, a very dear friend of my mother's."

"How do you do?"

Tarrah resisted the urge to shrink under the penetrating stare of the Sheikah woman but was rewarded with a gentle smile.

"I am very pleased to meet you Tarrah," Impa said warmly. "I look forward to hearing about how you two met, but I'm afraid we have to get going before a search party comes after those bandits. Let's make haste."

She nodded to Dayne, who gestured for Conran and Tarrah to follow him while she returned to the carriage. Malon was watching Conran intently, as were Mentes and Caron.

"Is he alright?"

Impa nodded.

"Better than ever it would seem." She paused as she watched the trio ride ahead. "Is it just me, or does Conran's mare look frighteningly like Epona?"

* * *

The Duchess of Aratea sat by one of the large windows of the hall, gazing wistfully out across the courtyard into the distance. She sighed heavily and looked at her lap and at her untouched lunch before placing the bowl of soup on a table by her side.

"Oh Conran where are you?"

She rose and walked to the window, aware that all the while she watched for Conran she herself was being watched from a distance by members of Dezauras' personal guard. Her eyes narrowed as she turned from the window, scarcely able to believe that the minister would go so far as to invade on her privacy in his quest to climb to power. Had she been less of a lady she would have spat in disgust.

"My lady?"

Zelda turned and was greeted by one of her servants who looked relieved about something.

"Yes Ilia?"

"Master Dayne has been sighted in the western pasture with the wagon you sent him after."

Zelda released one of the breaths that she had been holding.

"That _is_ good news, thank you-"

"With all due respect ma'am, he's got three others riding with him."

The grin that had illuminated Zelda's tired features faded.

"Is it Wrel?" she asked, frowning in dismay.

"I don't think so. Captain Wrel rides a dun, the horses with Master Dayne are two chestnuts and a bay."

The frown remained on Zelda's face.

"I didn't know Impa was bringing anyone else…"

She trailed off, remembering something from happier days in her past.

"Did you say chestnut?"

"Ay madam."

Her blood had begun pounding as she asked her next question slowly.

"Solid chestnut?"

"One of them is, the other has a white mane and tail my lady."__

Not waiting to hear more, Zelda ran to the courtyard with her heart pounding and her hands trembling, opening the door as the first horse rode in. The afternoon sun cast everything in a harsh glare that momentarily blinded her, and impatiently she waited to regain her vision. Dayne rode in first, smiling proudly as he was followed by a girl she had never met before riding a muscular chestnut with a short blaze. The third horse appeared, finer than the second chestnut with a pretty face, marked by a small lopsided star and flaxen forelock. Zelda felt only a momentary disappointment at the sight of the new mare but it was swiftly forgotten.

"Oh praise the gods, _Conran_!"

Conran heard his mother call his name and leapt from the saddle moments after Peony had stopped. He tore across the courtyard towards her and was met with a fierce hug.

"Never do that to me again," Zelda gasped, overcome at the sight of her son safe and sound. "Thank the gods you're safe."

"You're not angry?" Con asked, slightly confused.

"Furious, but I'm not letting that spoil this," she muttered confidentially. "I've missed you too much to care about punishment right now."

She stepped back and looked at him carefully and when satisfied that he was unharmed, she kissed him on both cheeks and the forehead before hugging him again, refusing to let go of him.

"Let the kid breathe Princess," Dayne teased as he joined them on the threshold to the Keep.

Zelda reluctantly ended her hug and punched her friend jovially on the arm.

"I'll deal with you later," she growled.

Her attention turned to Impa and the cut across her cheek.

"Impa, you're hurt."

"We had some trouble with some friends of Wrel's. They won't be troubling us anymore, we put paid to them," Dayne informed her. "Conran and Tarrah took out the two that went after the cart."

Conran had gone to talk to Tarrah, who was standing beside Phoenix and staring.

"_Conran_ did?"

"Yes, it seems he's picked up some sword skills on his adventure."

Zelda watched him intently.

"He seems changed somehow," she murmured.

Con laughed at something Tarrah said.

"Don't be stupid, come and meet my mother," he said cheerfully.

"I'm not good enough to meet a princess," Tarrah explained. "I mean look at me!"

He looked at her strangely before breaking out in a carefree grin.

"Being a king's daughter doesn't make her different from anyone else," he said. "Besides, you're my friend. I want you to meet her."

Zelda had turned her attention to Malon and Mentes and was greeting them all enthusiastically, unaware of the silent awe with which she was being regarded by Tarrah. When her eyes fell upon the slightly nervous girl, she broke into a warm smile and crossed to her.

"Mother, this is my friend Tarrah," Con said brightly.

Tarrah smiled uncertainly and murmured a greeting. Zelda's smile spread.

"Welcome to Aratea Tarrah. I hope that my son was no trouble to you."

"No Your Grace, I mean Your Highness," Tarrah replied, bobbing a clumsy curtsey.

Zelda laughed quietly to herself.

"Tarrah, you don't need to bother with all that formal nonsense, just call me Zelda. I haven't been a 'Your Highness' for a very long time."

"That won't last for much longer," Impa reminded her, standing at Zelda's side. "Conran has retrieved your father's Will."

* * *

A.A: Tadpoles!

Link and Navi: Que?

A.A: Never mind.

_[A Loser (No you're not!): Please consider it a thank you for the absolutely lovely review! I'm really flattered, I swear my head inflated like a beach-ball ']_

Link: Well, that chapter was unbelievable.

A.A: Really? Well I must admit I'm quite-

Link: I mean as in it would never happen.

A.A: Um, I know Con and Tarrah arriving like that was a little farfetched but-

Link: Fanfic-me got _injured?_

Navi: Oh boy.

A.A: I'm surprised that you haven't commented on the obvious.

Link: Which is..?

A.A to Navi: Should I tell him?

Navi: No, she's about to.

Zelda thwaps Link over the head with a paper fan.

Zelda: ME, numbnuts!


	11. Aratea

Disclaimer: Legend of Zelda belongs to Nintendo. All original characters belong to me. Steal them and I hunt you down, tear out your arms and beat you to death with the wet ends.

A.N: Apologies for the lateness. The end of lessons hassle (and increase in last minute revision essays) left me with absolutely no time, nor creative energy. Even this chapter is quite short and not _that_ great, but it is one of those transitional ones I mentioned earlier so hopefully that explains it. Oh, and the fact that my A-Levels started on Tuesday. They end on the 30th, so be prepared for the holiday update overload.

I have received a few comments about the length of the Link vs Graev fight of the last chapter and realised my own shortcomings. Actually, the disappointment of it was further highlighted by my watching of Kill Bill for the first time- Tarrantino _knows _how to do fight scenes. So, I've added to Chapter 10's fight scene. If you felt aggrieved by the duel, then please feel free to look over the now 1000 word fight.

If you even consider yourself a half decent Zelda fan, then you'll already know about the new game. I learnt about it on Wednesday 12th of May and I'm still on a high. Huzzah for the return of grown up Link! Realistic graphics! Epona! (Quietly mourning the loss of Tetra.) By now, every decent Zelda site has news on this monumental development, so if you don't know what's going on I suggest you check it out immediately.

Ooh, and Vagabond's _finally _hit the 100 review mark. Thank you so much to everyone who's taken the time to read and review and I hope that it's been worth it for you.

Chapter 11: Aratea

"This is Melanippe," Conran said, stroking the nose of a rangy black mare. "We bought her three summers ago as a two year old. She was tiny when we got her but she hasn't stopped growing since. Dayne reckons she'll make sixteen hands."

After eating an enormous lunch, Zelda had taken her son aside and suggested he give Tarrah and Caron a tour of the grounds, but Caron had been close to falling asleep throughout the meal and had been packed off to bed by her mother. Con had the impression that the adults were going to be talking about their next course of action and didn't want to explain the situation to mere children. The thought of exclusion had soured him slightly, but Zelda had recognised the stirrings of irritation on his face and told him gently that they'd talk later when they were alone. That had pacified him sufficiently, there were certain things about his adventures that he wanted to talk to her about privately.

Conran had showed Tarrah the stables first, believing them to be the most interesting place for her to visit, given her love and appreciation for horses.

Tarrah fed the mare a carrot and looked at her admiringly.

"She's a beauty. Is she yours?"

"Nah, she's my mother's baby," Con replied, stroking her sleek black neck. "She's a little too temperamental for me."

They moved to the next stall where a shaggy dun pony tried to peep over the half door.

"Scrub," Con announced, rubbing the gelding's small ears. "My first pony. We couldn't bear to get rid of him after I outgrew him so he stayed. He's a man-whore, all the mares love him."

Tarrah laughed as the pony snorted and blew nasal discharge over Conran's hands.

"Thanks for that Scrubster," Con remarked, wiping his hands on the pony's neck.

"I like him," Tarrah laughed. "He has great timing."

"Yeah I guess." Con offered Melanippe another piece of carrot to stop her from nibbling at the back of his shirt. "Shut up Balius, I'm getting to you."

Balius had been hammering at the door, impatient for his bit of carrot and attention. Conran slipped a carrot to Scrub and then moved to Balius. He snapped at Con's hand for his treat and received a slap on the neck.

"Dayne spoils him," he explained.

Tarrah offered him her last piece of carrot and smiled as he gently took the treat from her outstretched hand.

"These two are Appa and Loosa," he said, indicating two appaloosas who shared one large stable. "They were going to be sold for horse-meat at the market because their owner thought they were too ugly but Ruud rescued them and taught them how to pull a trap. He's the tenant we have in the farmhouse."

"You have tenants?" Tarrah asked.

"Yeah, but we don't charge them. There's more than enough money in the treasury to keep the estate going until my grandchildren inherit. Ruud farms it and he and his family keep seventy percent of the profits." Con scratched a patch of mud off the neck of one of the appaloosas. "It's not the most conventional management, but it suits us fine and the tenants are more than happy with it."

Tarrah processed the information as Conran took her round to the last of the horses.

"This is Bella, my mare," he said, introducing a blue roan. "I used to think she was the perfect horse for me, but now I'm not so sure."

Peony pricked up her ears from her stall across the aisle and snorted. Con offered Bella a treat before going to the chestnut. She butted her nose against his shoulder and sniffed at him, searching for the carrot that she knew he had hidden in his breeches. Chuckling, Con offered her the largest vegetable he had saved and then produced half an apple which she ate with relish. Phoenix banged against the stable door in much the same manner that Balius had done earlier.

"Blatant favouritism, eh boy?" Tarrah laughed, stroking his muzzle.

Con smiled and passed her his last carrot and the other portion of apple.

"You didn't think I'd ignore him, did you?" he asked, pretending to sound hurt.

Tarrah shook her head.

"Of course not, I- ow! Phoenix!" The stallion had become impatient and stolen the apple from her hand, pinching her thumb with his teeth. "You pig."

"Here, let me have a look," Con offered, taking her hand in his and examining it. "I think you'll live."

He brushed his thumb over the broken flesh and Tarrah felt goose pimples prick up her arm.

"Thanks."

She turned her attention towards Peony and sighed.

"Do you reckon they're OK?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," Conran replied, knowing that she meant Arran and Link. "They'll be fine. Link'll take care of them."

"I hope so," Tarrah murmured, leaning against the stable door. "I don't like the idea of being orphaned just yet."

She started when Con put his hand on her shoulder. He smiled reassuringly at her as she turned to look at him curiously.

"They're going to be alright Tarrah, I know it."

"I hope you're right," she murmured.

* * *

After what seemed like hours, Arran finally spied sunlight through the canopy.

"Either we've hit an area of light foliage or we're getting to the edge of this godsforsaken place."

To further confirm his suspicions, Gus snorted and picked up his pace. Grinning happily, Arran turned in the saddle to catch Link's reaction.

The elder man was pale, slumped in the seat and looking if anything worse than when his fight with Graev had finished. Great purple bags were visible beneath his eyes, even in the partial darkness, and there was a thin sheen of sweat on his pallid skin.

"Gods Link, you look worse than death," he commented.

Navi watched Link from her seat on the pommel of Epona's saddle with uncharacteristic silence. What was wrong with him? She knew that it had something to do with his injuries, that much _was_ certain, but what? He should have been as right as rain by now, he had consumed another bottle of red potion since taking the first dose _and _taken some blue, but there had been no positive results to speak of.

Something was seriously wrong.

"Thanks for that," Link remarked dryly. "If we're where I think we are, then we're about to come to the edge of the forest. Aratea's on the other side, we need to find where the Duchess is."

"We need to find her? I thought you knew where she was!" Arran protested.

"I do know; she's in Aratea."

"Oh very funny, comic genius. You're not the one with a kid riding on this woman."

Arran would have, under normal circumstances, folded his arms and gone off in a huff in response to this comment of Link's, yet due to this current position on the back of a gelding, his enacting this reaction was somewhat hindered.

"Conran's with her Arran, and he will know the way like the back of his hand. Besides, it's not going to be difficult to find where the Duchess lives, is it?"

Arran kept his attention on Gus, unable to think of a retort.

"Link, do you want to take a breather?" Navi asked quietly, landing on his head. "You really don't look so great…"

"Well I wasn't expecting to look particularly fetching having killed a large amount of people, or when I have this mildly uncomfortable cut that's made my shoulder and chest into things of beauty," he bit back. "Honestly Navi, I'm going to be fine. I'm sure it was a dodgy batch of potion we got hold of and it's just taking its sweet time to get working."

The fairy bit back the retort that formed on the tip of her tongue. He was trying not to worry her, he always had been reluctant to let her know when he was hurt, but this was taking the biscuit. She remembered a time, a very long time ago, when he had tried unsuccessfully to hide an injury from her.

"That was a close call," she had said, fluttering back to her charge, her aura changing from yellow to its usual pale blue. "Not too bad kid, considering."

"Considering what?" the ten year old Link had asked, sheathing his Kokiri Sword and panting.

"Considering that was the first time your opponent fought back." She glanced at the Lizalfos corpse that lay at the boy's feet. "Not bad at all."

The beast's short, stabbing sword lay a small distance away from its clawed hand, but that wasn't what attracted her attention. The blade was coloured scarlet along one edge.

_When had that happened?_

Rational panic shot through her and she flew around Link, her heart hammering against her tiny chest. _Please don't let me have got my first charge killed! _She pleaded. Link looked at her quizzically.

"What are you doing? We've gotta go and kill that Dodongo thing that Darunia told us about. There's no time for flying around like some kind of weird insect, we gotta move!"

"Not so fast, you're hurt."

"No I'm not."

Navi had flown to hover just above his face, fixing him with an accusative glare. She had been counting on making him squirm with discomfort, but she was faced with a different reaction as he looked back, just as stubbornly.

"Where did it get you?" the fairy asked, crossing her arms.

"It _didn't_!"

"Don't make me tell Saria that you've been acting recklessly."

His face had softened and he chewed his lip thoughtfully.

"It got my hip, OK? But it doesn't hurt. I'm fine."

"Link…"

"I'm fine!" As if to prove it, he had stridden resolutely towards the door, trying to hide the wince on his face as his hip hurt him. Navi remembered shaking her head, one thought flying around her head.

_That kid's either incredibly brave or stupid._

Well, the man the kid had become was just being stupid, in her opinion. This was not some minor wound from a Lizalfos, this was a dangerous stab wound that could easily get infected or worse, kill him.

"Why are you out to prove yourself when there's nothing left to be proven?" she asked herself quietly.

* * *

"Dayne claims that he's grown a lot in a month," Impa said as she caught Zelda watching Conran through a window.

"I know," Zelda murmured. "Give him another inch and a half and he'll be taller than me."

She sighed and turned to her former attendant and dearest confidant.

"I'm sorry, I hadn't realised just how much I missed him," she explained.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," the Sheikah replied. "If it had been I with a son on his own in the wilderness, I would have taken it far less calmly than you."

The younger woman's attention turned back to the window, where her son was pointing out the boundaries of the paddock to Tarrah.

"He just seems so different, so much more-"

"Like his father?"

Zelda nodded and let her shoulders droop before gathering herself and looking away from the window with a more confident expression on her face.

"I should learn to have more faith in him, he's not a little boy anymore. He's not even sixteen yet and he's already killed a man." Sadness tinged her tone. "I wanted to protect him from that."

"You cannot keep him a child forever, Zelda. In two years he will be a man and what then? Do you expect him to still come to you for his protection?"

"No, I've never wanted that for him. I- I don't know what I wanted."

Impa looked sadly at the woman she loved like a daughter.

"He will become a fine man, and perhaps it is a good thing if he is already used to combat. It will make what is to come all the easier for him."

"I know. Things are really that bad?"

Impa nodded slowly, her lips pursing to a grim line.

"Nabooru has lost her temper with Titus, things are dismal. The Gerudo treaty looks set to disintegrate before too long, she cannot condone the boy's insults for much longer, it's remarkable that she's kept her patience this long."

"I cannot blame her," Zelda sighed. "What was it that Titus called them again?"

"A valley full of sluts who are led by a whore with looser morals than a feral cat."

Zelda blinked twice and winced.

"I must shake Nabooru's hand for keeping her cool as long as she did. If it had been me, I would have hit him."

She laughed softly, but Impa fixed her with an icy look.

"I'm glad you find it amusing."

"I don't find it amusing at all," Zelda countered. "The mental imagery of Nabooru slapping the taste from my so-called brother's mouth was just too amusing to resist."

She sobered under Impa's look of disapproval whilst silently questioning why the Sheikah woman still had the ability to make her feel like a child at moments like this.

"The others are preparing to take sides. Darunia openly disapproves and heaps his own insults by not taking Titus as his Sworn Brother. Ruto is biding her time and acting diplomatically in public, but I know that it's all an act. It seems that neither Titus nor Dezauras can stomach the idea of a woman in power and the snide comments they make about her…" Impa sighed. "She's inwardly seething, but for the sake of prosperity she's biding her time before she reacts."

Zelda took in this information calmly and frowned as she thought through what she had to do next.

"We would do well to gather those who support my claim at a public meeting," she began. "After that, I think that a council of the Sages is in order so that we can act upon what is discussed in the meeting. What do you think?"

"Princess, anything you decide upon meets with my thorough approval."

"I don't want your approval, I want your input," Zelda said firmly. "What would you do?"

"If it were me, I'd cut Titus and Sibella's throats in the night and plant the knife upon Dezauras to be found in the morning."

Zelda laughed.

"I should seriously consider making that my back up plan, it would make things so much easier."

"Those were my thoughts."

Silence fell between them and Impa cast another glance out of the window at Conran and Tarrah, who were now examining the old armoury.

"I fear I must leave you Zelda, my absence won't go unnoticed for long."

"But you only just got here!" Zelda protested. "At least stay the night…"

"I only wish I could, but your enemies already know too much for my tastes. It is for your own safety that I do this. Besides, someone needs to find a place for this meeting you intend to hold."

Zelda sighed.

"I understand. At least stay another hour so that I can get you some provisions for your journey."

A rare smile illuminated the Sheikah's face.

"Princess, you read my mind."

"I didn't need to," Zelda replied. "Your food supplies were empty."

* * *

The plains of Aratea stretched out as far as the eye could see, the grasses swaying gently in the breeze with a gentle rustle. Bally and her younger brother often spent hours prowling through the long growth, stalking and trying to catch the other unawares. Vo was far better than his sister at this, he was smaller and able to weave through the grass with less noise than should have been humanly possible.

This afternoon, Bally was once again out to prove that she could be just as sneaky and cunning as her brother was, and they had left the confines of the local fields to play near the old dirt track that led from that creepy looking Izard Forest to their village of Mayn. Her mother had declared it quite safe to play near the track, after all it was hardly ever used and there was no danger of the children being hurt by merchants' wagons, which would often hurtle down the roads at alarming speeds, heedless of any small child unfortunate enough to cross their path.

"Alright Vo, I'm going to find _you _this time," Bally told herself, scanning the grassland with a squint as she was momentarily blinded by the glare of the afternoon sun.

She blinked to regain her sight, but then gasped as she spotted the silhouette of two horses coming down the dirt track towards her. All sorts of thoughts occupied her mind as the horses approached; the men riding were murderous thieves, or child snatchers, or criminals on the run from the law or…

"Good afternoon, young lady," the man on the grey horse said, bowing his head respectfully towards her.

Bally stared at him nervously as he and his companion slowed their horses to a stop.

"Could you please help us? We're trying to find out where the Duchess lives," the man on the other horse said.

Bally was afraid of these two men, and her mother had told her never to talk to strangers. Slowly, she backed away from them only to be startled by the sudden appearance of a small blue ball of light.

"Hi!"

Delightedly, Bally recognised the creature even though she had never come across one before.

"You're a fairy," she exclaimed excitedly.

"Uh huh, my name's Navi, what's yours?"

"Bally," she replied.

"That's a really pretty name," the man on the chestnut horse said.

When Bally shrank away at the sound of the man's voice, Navi perched on her shoulder reassuringly.

"It's OK Bally, they're my friends. The brown haired man is Arran and the other one is my best friend Link. We're trying to find the Duchess, can you help us?"

Here Bally's nerve faltered and she found herself torn with complying with the fascinating fairy's wishes or her dogma of never talking to strangers.

"Please Bally," Navi murmured. "Link is hurt and it's making him sick, I don't know what will happen if we don't get him to the Duchess soon. Can't you help at all?"

The little girl glanced over at the man and noticed the pallor of his skin and the blood stained clothing he wore. Here was a man in need, and her mother had always told her that if someone was in need of help then it was best to help them. Besides, he couldn't be bad if he had a _fairy _with him.

"She lives in Aratea Keep, just outside of Deten," Bally said, pointing in the direction of the main road. "Stick to the road and it should take you straight there."

Relief flooded the dark haired man's face while the fairy brightened.

"Thank you so much, I can't tell you how grateful I am," Navi said, fluttering near the child's nose before flying back to the horses. "Good bye!"

Bally watched as the two horses took off at a canter and she continued to do so until they were nothing more than specks on the horizon. Suddenly, something jumped out at her from the tall grass and scared her out of her skin.

"Gotcha!"

"Vo!"

Giggling, the boy dived back into the grass and Bally followed him, her thoughts of concern forgotten.

* * *

"We're going to have a problem," Link murmured as the great stone shape of Aratea Keep loomed in the distance. "Wrel's got people watching this place."

The sun had already set and twilight had fallen, casting the landscape into subdued hues of blues and greys. The keep stood black against the blue backdrop, proud and impregnable.

"Wrel?" Arran asked. "Not that git who was after Con?"

"The same."

"So what are we going to do? You're in no condition to fight anyone."

Instead of being flattered by Arran's concern, Link found himself irritated by it.

"For Farore's sake, I am fine! When are you and Navi going to stop treating me like I'm some pathetic kid?"

Ignoring Arran's attempts to explain himself, Link surveyed the surrounding landscape and caught sight of the copse in the distance.

"If they're anywhere, then they'll be in there, it's the only cover in sight of the keep."

"That's if they've not broken in already," Navi commented glumly.

"They haven't," Link said assuredly. "Because the keep would certainly not be as quiet as it is if they had. And they won't get in either, once we're there."

"He has such confidence…" Navi muttered.

Link chose to ignore her.

"I'm going in," he told them. "I can sneak in without being noticed by the scouts and then find a way to get you two and the horses in."

"I'm coming with you," Navi announced.

"Yes, and Wrel's going to ignore a moving ball of moving light."

"I can hide…" Navi argued. "And if you think I'm letting you in on your own, then you have another thing coming."

"Look, I appreciate the concern," Link lied, "but I think it would be better if you two wait here. _Please_."

Navi saw behind the resolution in Link's face something else, something she couldn't put her finger on but it seemed desperate. Then she remembered who he would be meeting inside the Keep, and understood.

"Be careful."

Link nodded his thanks.

"If I'm not back by midnight, come after me."

"You got it," Arran agreed. "Just don't do anything stupid? That's my job."

Link smiled and dismounted, fishing through his saddle bags and retrieving the Hookshot.

* * *

Zelda stood facing the window, glancing out over the flat, still plains that stretched as far as the eye could see. The twilight always gave the land a ghostly air, not like her beloved Hyrule that was transformed into a magical sight at the setting sun. She sighed, thinking of the troubles that had befallen the land of her birth.

Titus's insatiable appetite for expansion of the kingdom's already ample borders was testing their allies, and his attitude towards the leaders of Hyrule's tribes was nothing short of lunacy. The key to a successful and thriving kingdom stood in the choice of one's allies and their treatment of them. She remembered that while her family may not have necessarily _liked_ the men with whom he struck alliances, he honoured them to the letter and treated each comrade as an equal and ally. And what now? These hard sought alliances were crumbling, all due to one immature boy's greed. Zelda was disgusted. How could this boy, born on the same day as her own son, show so little subtlety or foresight? How could he be so easily manipulated by Dezauras?

Her stomach growled quietly, reminding her of the approaching meal that was being prepared. Impa had left earlier, and she was determined that the Sheikah's absence was not going to dampen her spirits. After all, the Will was in her possession, which meant it was safe until she could read it in front of the Council; Conran was home safely, greatly improved by his adventures and she was soon to return to Hyrule for the first time in fifteen years. Things were for once-

The positive train of thought was interrupted as she spied a cloaked figure slinking through the shadows of the garden below her window.

_Trust Wrel or one of his incompetent underlings to spoil my good mood._

Rising and clenching her fists, Zelda glared at the figure before going to the chest by the end of her bed.

No-one was going to rain on her parade tonight.

* * *

Scaling the back wall had been easy enough for Link to manage, the Hookshot connected with a mass growth of ivy and he had managed to climb the rest of the way by using the plant as leverage. For a moment, he had experienced a sense of déjà vu, harking back to a time when he had snuck into Hyrule castle. The garden in which he found himself was suitably well grown, allowing him plenty of shadows to conceal himself in. Encouraged by his good fortune, he slunk through the growth with his heart pounding. He was finding himself increasingly short of breath (which he put down to his wound) and the actual wound was causing him a great deal of discomfort. But, he was Link the Hero of Time, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let a little flesh wound cause him to surrender. A stone archway approached, and with caution he went through and entered the courtyard at the front of the keep.

The courtyard was deserted, which immediately triggered alarm bells in his head. There should at least be a servant around or something…

He paused as the all too familiar sound of a sword being drawn sang in the silence. Wasting no time, he drew his own blade as his enemy advanced from the shadows and flew at him on feet as silent as death. Their swords met with an angry clang which encountered a growl from his assailant. Link was momentarily taken aback, as his attacker was not one of Wrel's men, at least not one he recognised.

"Whose side are you on?" he asked.

His attacker leapt back nimbly to gain ground and then attacked again. Link blocked.

"My own," came the snarled response.

The swordsman sliced an upward thrust to knock Link's sword away, then again with a horizontal slash. Link moved quickly to avoid both attacks, noticing that his unknown enemy was possessed of a greater speed advantage over him.

"You're good, Wrel's been busy I see."

"Wrel?" Link replied. "Wait a sec-"

He was not given time to reply as another attack came out of the darkness. This time, Link was surprised to find the manoeuvre not only familiar but of his own invention. The blade sliced diagonally across his chest, reopening what had healed of his wound and making it worse. He staggered backwards and clenched his teeth, his right hand on his wound as white hot pain made his head swim. Taking a few deep breaths, he looked up at his attacker and narrowed his eyes.

The time for reserve was over.

With a hoarse cry, he took the upper hand by attacking full strength and with a glowing blue sword. Shocked, the other party lost ground and struggled to regain it, only to find themselves with their back against the wall and a sword against their jugular.

"You should know better than to attack a man when his back is turned. It pisses most men off, including me."

He paused, fixing his gaze on the Sheikah at his mercy. Red/brown eyes stared back with smouldering fury beneath them until they suddenly locked with his and widened in amazement. A small, feminine gasp betrayed the attacker's identity. Link took a deep breath, overcome with conflicting emotions, fatigue and dizziness from loss of blood.

"I had hoped I'd taught you better, Zelda."

He swayed where he stood and felt his knees give way as he let blackness claim him.

* * *

Zelda: Seeing as fanfic-Link is unconscious at this moment in time, Link has taken up chasing anime animal around the room.

A.A: Heeeeeeelllllll-

Link: Get your no good, lazy ass back here!

A.A: llllllllll-

Zelda sighs.

Zelda: As her favourite character, the author has requested that I tell you that what you have just finished reading is the chapter that leads up to a chapter full of 'Oh I _see_' moments.

Navi: anime animal fully intends to update ASAP, but you must understand that this is subject to whether or not she gets away from Link.

A.A: llllllllllllllp!

Navi: Zelda, I really think you need to talk him into getting professional help.

Zelda: Oh I intend to.


	12. Home Truths

Disclaimer: I have no ownership over the Zelda series.

A.N: Exams are over, I am on holiday at bloody last and am going off to France tomorrow. Sorry once again for the delay between chapters, this one is over 6000 words and I actually quite like it compared to my most recent offerings.

Chapter 12: Home Truths

Zelda stared in absolute shock and horror at the man who had collapsed on her. She had rushed to stop him from falling and caught him just as his legs gave out. Her heart gave a painful lurch as she sank to the ground with Link's head cushioned in her lap, and frantically she searched his neck for a pulse.

"Link!"

Out of the darkness shot a familiar ball of blue light that rapidly turned white with shock.

"Oh no, what have you done to him you… _Princess?!_"

Zelda let her transformation spell slip as the tiny form of Navi flitted in fright about the place.

"What's the matter with Link? What did you do?!" the fairy cried as she spotted the blood on Zelda's sword.

"I… I thought he was an enemy, I didn't know," Zelda stammered. "But I didn't hurt him that badly, it was just a scratch and he blacked out."

She placed a trembling hand on Link's forehead, her face completely colourless.

_Why now? Why of all times did the gods have to torment me with this now?_

"He's burning up and his pulse is erratic."

Navi let out a shrill, ethereal moan that seemed unnaturally loud for one so small.

"It must be the poison!"

"_Poison_?" Zelda's blood ran like ice through her veins. "What in Nayru's name is going on?"

"We were followed into Izard Forest by an assassin after Conran-"

Zelda tore her eyes from Link's still form.

"How do you know about Conran?"

"We helped him out in Ariad, we saved him from Wrel and agreed to protect him until he got back to you. But in the Forest we got ambushed and Link got stabbed by Graev and the wound wouldn't heal and I'm sorry but we lost Conran and-"

"Navi slow down or you'll pass out. Conran's fine, and so is the girl he was with. They're here and they're safe. I need you to go into the Keep and get Dayne, the Sheikah, so that we can get Link inside and treated."

"I'll get Arran."

With that, the fairy darted off in the opposite direction and left Zelda completely baffled with Link in her lap. She squinted in the darkness at his bloodstained body, alarmed to see blood from not only the gash she had inflicted but also from a wound by his shoulder that she hadn't noticed. The smell of blood was overpowered by an evil smelling scent that she didn't recognise, and as she tentatively touched the injury she came away with something vile and black on her fingers. Her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed.

"Mother!"

Conran powered across the courtyard to her side and skidded to a halt as he made sense of the scene.

"Shit, Link!"

Zelda was too agitated to care about her son's colourful language.

"Go and get Dayne so that we can take him upstairs. Don't worry," she added, seeing Conran's stricken expression. "Link's taken worse than this and come out smiling and he will do again."

Con stared at her in shock.

"You know him?"

"Yes I do, now go and get Dayne."

Knowing that the tone in his mother's voice meant business, Conran did as he was told and tore across the courtyard in search of the Sheikah. Zelda watched him go before returning her attention to Link's unmoving form, moving her hand to his face and tracing the line of his jaw. Still the same Link, even though the years of beard growth, the sun and wind tanned face and the filling out of his previously lanky frame left him changed to the eye. As she heard horses approaching from outside the keep, she brushed her thumb over the back of his left hand, feeling the sudden rush of heat from the Triforce of Courage as it reacted to the proximity of its fellow.

"Make it through this," Zelda murmured. "Because I need you, perhaps more now than ever I did before."

* * *

To say that the King of Hyrule was angry could be regarded as somewhat of an understatement, as Titus stormed through the castle in a rage so hot that even his mother had shunned his company for the day. Instead, the irate youth marched towards the council room and pushed the doors open so suddenly that they flew backwards and hit the wall with a bang.

"What the hell is this I hear about my father having a second Will?!"

The ministers were silent and stared at their monarch with unease.

"Majesty?" one of them offered.

"Let's get straight to the point shall we gentlemen?" Titus growled, throwing himself into the seat at the head of the table. "I want answers and I want them now. Did my father make a second Will?"

"Whether he did or did not what does it matter now?" Gulric, a relatively young minister asked. "You are the king sire, it should not make any difference."

Titus slammed his fist against the table, making the already uneasy ministers flinch.

"It makes all the difference in the world," he seethed. "Because I hear that this second Will names my sister as heir to the throne, and as I am not permitted to fully take the throne until I come of age she is well within her rights to take _my _throne away from _me_ and cast _me _into exile! So tell me, Gulric, how is that _not _supposed to make a difference?!"

Gulric looked pale in response to the king's rage and nervously stammered an apology.

"F-forgive m-me sire, I-I was not aware…"

"Which makes me wonder what the hell you are doing in the council. Get out of my sight."

Gulric scurried away, immediately causing a nervous buzz to emanate from the ministers. Titus' eyes narrowed and he pushed back his chair with a torturous scrape.

"_Silence!_"

Scarlet eyes flashing with anger, Titus glowered at each and every minister until he came to the unshakable form of Dezauras. Calmly, the minister's dark eyes met the irate youth's and betrayed nothing. Titus' temper flared.

"Now it all makes perfect sense…" he snarled. "The tutor's absence, Caron and that bitch of a Sheikah's disappearance, it's all down to _her_ isn't it? _Isn't it_?!"

Dezauras was unaffected by the King's temper tantrum.

"I have my suspicions about that, yes."

Titus roared in outrage and without a second thought knocked the tray bearing the council's crystal decanter of wine onto the floor. The vessel shattered into a thousand tiny pieces while the crimson liquid it had borne oozed over the pale flagstones.

"What is being done about this?" a wiry minister named Rirn enquired. "And why weren't the rest of the council notified?"

Dezauras took at sip from his wine glass, oblivious to the challenging gazes of his fellows.

"Gentlemen, I do confess that a situation has arisen but I assure you that I have taken steps to prevent it from become a serious issue."

"It is already a serious issue," Tuval, the most senior of the council intercepted. "If this second Will is in existence then we have defiled one of the most sacred laws of our country. How could this have been allowed to happen?"

"I don't give a damn how this happened!" Titus snapped. "I want it stopped and I want it stopped _now._ I am King, ordained by the gods and no-one can take that from me, no-one! If I hear anyone, be it civilian or council member, talk of this Will again then they will be arrested and executed for high treason."

He paused for a moment to see how his words were received. Satisfied that he had their full and undivided attention, he smirked a little and continued.

"Furthermore, should she ever set foot in this kingdom, I want Zelda of Aratea brought to me immediately."

Dezauras thinly veiled his smile of delight.

"I take it that you want us to issue a proclamation for her arrest," Rirn said grimly.

Titus grinned.

"That is _precisely_ what I want."

* * *

_"You know, I'm going to have to teach you some self defence."_

_She laughed quietly and looked at him with a smirk._

_"Why would I need to know how to defend myself when I've got you watching me like I'm made of glass?"_

_"Cause I'm not going to be with you all the time, am I?"_

_Sadness flooded her eyes momentarily and the taunting smirk that had played on her lips faded just as quickly._

_"No, I suppose you aren't."_

_He smiled and took her hand, determined to see her smile again._

_"But we're here now, right? There's nothing to stop me from teaching you."_

Link needed a moment to orientate himself when he came to. He was lying in a huge bed opposite a window fitted with elaborate drapery that was pulled shut to block out the amber light that filtered through the small gap where the curtains met. That small sliver of light illuminated just enough for him to make out the majority of the room; it was full of ornately carved mahogany furniture, gilded with gold leaf and, in some cases, encrusted with semi-precious gems, while the huge bed he was lying in was covered in dense sleeping furs and sheets of brightly coloured linen. The gaudiness of his surroundings revolted him, but then he remembered where he was.

Phineas always had liked his possessions showy.

"You're awake," a voice said softly.

Link felt no need to look for the speaker, he already knew who it was.

"Do you make it a habit to attack your guests, or am I the exception?" he growled.

"Don't be like that."

"Like what?"

Zelda sighed and rubbed her temples as she sat down on the stool by his bed.

"I'm sorry I attacked you, but I honestly didn't realise who you were." She glanced across at him. "You've changed a lot in fifteen years, you know."

Link spared her a fleeting glance, catching her in profile. It did not surprise him that her face had hardly changed since the last time he saw it. Her expression was just as serene, her eyes just as blue and her hair just as vibrant even though it was braided and tied in a knot at the back of her head. He didn't think the style suited her, for reasons that he couldn't fathom her it made her look tired.

"I've been cleaning your wounds," she continued. "That stab wound is causing me concern though, Navi mentioned that she thought the blade was poisoned, that's why your wounds haven't healed as well as usual. I'd say that unrefined black Chu Chu jelly was used, it cancels out the healing effect of most potions and would account for the black discharge that the wound is seeping."

_Typical Navi trying not to worry me_, Link thought. He tried to sit up and winced as the chest wound stung.

"Where are my friends?"

"They're fine," Zelda replied. "You've been out for almost a day. The horses are stabled and fed and we are about to eat supper. I'll have something brought up for you."

"Don't bother."

"Link, you have to eat. You've lost a lot of strength, if you were a normal man you'd be dead by now. It amazes me that you're even awake now, considering how bad you were last night."

Part of him wanted to know just how bad he had been, but he did not want to ask.

"Why is it that whenever you're around I always end up getting hurt?"

Zelda, who had been soaking a cloth in a basin of warm water, paused momentarily.

"Link..."

She couldn't find any other words and wrung the excess water from the cloth. An uncomfortable silence filled the room as the duchess wiped away the dried blood around Link's bicep.

"I wanted to thank you," she said quietly. "You've done me a great service by protecting my son."

Link tensed. _Ah yes, there was that…_

"I didn't do it for you," he retorted, "I did it for Con."

"Of course," she conceded. "But my son came home to me unharmed. That was more than I ever dared to hope for and for that I owe you everything. He is my life."

As she turned her attention to the laceration in his chest, he was aware of her unwavering attention to it and it made him uncomfortable.

"I missed you," she said softly as she bathed the wound.

Link bit his lip to stop the sharp intake of breath that threatened as the water stung at the injury. There was a large part of him that wanted to say 'no you didn't, where did I get this gash from?' but there was a larger part that had given up jokes a long time ago. Instead, he merely raised an eyebrow cynically.

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

Her fingertips brushed over his chest, causing him look at her questioningly and meeting her aqua gaze for the first time that evening. She sat beside him on the bed, her face drawn with lines of concentration as she worked on tending him. He felt a warm sensation spread across his pectoral as healing magic pulsed from her fingertips and sealed the wound. At least he told himself that it was the magic.

"You scared me, I thought that I had been too hard on you with that sword," she said in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere.

Link made no reply.

"But then I saw those other wounds and I realised what you must have been through. They seem pretty well healed but…"

She gave up, aware that she would be able to draw more conversation from a wooden plank than Link at that moment.

"It seems we've returned to the beginning," she remarked.

"Of what?" he asked with an air of indifference.

"You're not talking to me again. I wonder why this seems familiar."

She tried to hold his gaze, but he looked away.

"It couldn't possibly be to do with the fact that you're in Aratea, could it? Trust me, you couldn't possibly hate it as much as I do."

"Why did you leave?"

Zelda was prepared for the question, but it still grieved her to hear it nonetheless. She let her hand slip unnoticed from his chest.

"I had no choice."

"There is _always _a choice Zelda. I thought you'd finally got the backbone to make your own but I suppose I was wrong," he snapped.

"Always a choice for you maybe," Zelda retorted. "My life has never been mine, not in this time. Phineas commanded and I obeyed. That was the way it had to be."

"I would have fought for you."

"Fighting's all you know how to do, isn't it?" she snapped. "'Fight for yourself, Zelda. Fight your father, your husband, fight the whole damn system so that you're a disgrace to your people.' It wasn't that easy for me, I couldn't lose Hyrule, Link. It was all I had."

"And you don't even have that anymore," Link growled. "So your sacrifice has been in vain."

Zelda rose to her feet in anger.

"I will always have Hyrule, it's a part of what and who I am and I will not rest until I save my people from the fate that my so-called brother is leading them to. I don't know how, I don't know when, but I will liberate my kingdom."

"You'd let that boar you call husband take the throne? Frankly, _Your Grace_, I believe Hyrule would be better off with that bastard as far from it as possible."

Zelda stared at him, her eyes blazing in fury. Link could see her physically checking her anger before answering him, but even so she could not keep the aggression from her voice.

"Don't you dare try to tell me what's best for my kingdom, don't you _dare_! Phineas is dead," she snapped. "The fat pig drank himself to his grave before Conran was born, and good riddance to him."

Link's heart thudded heavily against his chest in surprise and he willed himself to breathe. Phineas, _dead_? He had been expecting a lot of things, but certainly not that, and he had no idea how to react. How did one react when they learnt that the source of all their past sorrows was dead?

Link spoke no words in response to her revelation, and Zelda stared at him balefully, wishing that he'd say something, _anything,_ to shatter the silence. Eventually, she sighed and rose to her feet.

"I must go to make preparations for dinner. I trust I still have the _backbone_ to do that much."

With her stinging remark still in the air, she hurriedly left the room before Link could receive satisfaction in seeing how much he was still able to shake her.

Link on the other hand, was mentally berating himself for making yet another stupid mistake when it came to Zelda.

* * *

The sun was dying in the evening sky, dying a bloody and beautiful death and staining the pure blue heavens with its crimson blood. Once there had been a time when such displays had held great pleasure for Zelda, when she had been young in the world and it had been a place of great joy for her. She corrected the thought instantly.

It had never been a place of joy for her.

Why did the gods have to torment her by throwing Link back into her life now, when she needed to be focused? All night she had sat by his bedside, terrified that if she left he would succumb to the effects of the poison. Remembering the worst of it made her shudder with fear, seeing in her mind the convulsions that had seized him in the night, the feverish sweats, the coughing up of blood…

The pained way he had cried out for her countless times in his unconscious, delirious state.

Now he was awake, and his dependency on her vanished with a single look. A single, furious look was all that it took for him to start hating her. A wry smile tugged at her lips. At least with him furious at her he was less likely to be a huge distraction.

"Mother? What's wrong?"

Conran had been sitting quietly on a bench when his mother emerged from Link's room, looking absolutely furious. Zelda jumped at the sound of his voice and shook her head.

"It's nothing sweetheart, I'm just-" she struggled to find a reason for her irritability. "I'm furious that someone would stoop so low as to poison someone that way."

Conran's expression changed to one of alarm.

"Link was poisoned!?"

"He'll be alright," Zelda replied, putting a hand on her son's shoulder. "It'll take more than a poisoned dagger to put him out of action.

"Is he awake?"

He was rewarded with a nod.

"Can I see him?" he persisted.

"I'd leave him a while, he needs to rest," she answered, lying through her teeth.

Link needed time to brood, and to cool off from whatever it was that was bugging him.

_You're the one bugging him, and you know it._

She hated how even though he was a grown man, he was still as obstinate as a child. She hated how he was petulantly determined to make her feel like she was the one in the wrong, and she hated how after a few minutes in his company could rile her to such a temper.

More than anything, she hated how he was still able to get under her skin after all those years.

* * *

"I thought I might find you here."

Malon stopped her humming to take a sharp intake of breath at the unexpected interruption and turned at the same time that Epona bent her neck to look behind her. Arran stood by the door of the mare's stall, watching the pair in amusement.

"You have a beautiful voice, Malon."

Malon inclined her head graciously.

"Thank you."

"You know it amazes me; that mare absolutely hates strangers but she adores you. I just don't get it."

She smiled and turned back to the horse, rubbing her sleek shoulder with a stable rubber.

"We go back a long way, this old lady and I. I was the first person she saw, the first to touch her and the first to introduce her to the taste of carrots. If she hadn't fallen in love with Link, I would have been the first on her back too."

"I didn't realise you two went that far back," Arran said quietly.

"Oh yeah, way back," Malon laughed. "Back then he was a weird little kid from the Kokiri forest who was experiencing life in the real world for the first time. He was so full of fun and mischief, you'd never believe the times our groom threatened to thrash him."

"Really?"

Malon turned her attention back to Arran, receiving a butt against the shoulder from Epona for having her massage interrupted.

"Is that so hard to believe?" she asked.

"Well yeah," Arran replied, reaching up to scratch the back of his head. "I mean, I've known Link a long time and he doesn't seem the type to break the rules. Makes you wonder what changed."

Turning back to Epona, Malon swallowed hard before replying.

"People change for different reasons. Changes of emotions, circumstances… losses."

Her throat tightened and forced her to swallow, just as Arran felt an all too familiar lump rise in his.

"The truth is Link's always been hard to understand," she said. "Some days he used to go around without a care in the world while on others it was like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, even as a kid. I remember the day we met; he was so excitable and wide eyed about the world and then a month later he had changed. It didn't help that Navi had vanished by then, but even so he seemed like a different person. He was-"

"Old beyond his years," Arran finished for her.

"Precisely."

"Tarrah's mother was the same, and now that I think about it-"

"So is Zelda."

Arran nodded.

"This is getting a little unnerving, you seem to be reading my thoughts."

Malon smiled and backed out of the stable, bolting the half door behind her.

"I was about to say the same thing."

"Just stop that, it's freaking me out," Arran teased. "I haven't known you long enough for you to be probing about inside my head."

Malon laughed and offered Epona one last pat.

"Are you always this flirtatious with women you've just met?"

"Only the pretty ones," Arran countered. "Sorry. Force of habit."

"Doesn't Tarrah's mother mind?"

An uncomfortable silence passed for a moment, then two.

"Tarrah's mother…passed away thirteen years ago."

"_Oh_." The pale flesh beneath Malon's freckled face flushed red. "I…"

"It's alright, you weren't to know."

"No, I'm sorry. That was unforgivable of me. Gods!" Malon cursed. "I am the most unbelievable bitch."

"No you're not. It's OK, really."

Malon looked guiltily away.

"I lost my husband before he ever saw our daughter. I can imagine how hard it must have been for you to raise Tarrah on your own."

Arran took his turn at being guilty.

"I couldn't. I mean, I didn't. I didn't raise her, her aunt did."

"Oh."

Arran realised at that moment just how stupid a decision that had been.

"Well… I suppose we should head in for dinner," he said quietly.

Malon nodded and walked beside him as they left the stable block.

"Arran, you're not a bad father for leaving her with someone more capable," she said softly. "I think that it was a very brave thing for you to do."

Arran blinked at the statement and suddenly felt very ill at ease.

The only other person who had ever been able to reassure him like that without his saying anything had been Imelza.

* * *

Tarrah was sitting quietly in her room, staring out of the window at the rising sliver of moon that peeked through the clouds. She held a shadow of a memory where she had been sitting on her mother's lap, staring up at the waning crescent while Imelza had told her the story about the twin gods, the god Sol and the goddess Lune, and of their perpetual game of chase. Tarrah had always loved the moon as a child but now…

Now she hated it with every fibre of her being.

She drew the curtains to blot out the hated sight and shut her eyes. In her mind she saw the man who had fallen so heavily for her mother, that corrupt and evil man who had robbed her of a mother and now of a normal life thanks to the horrific curse he had laid upon her. Her lip curled up as she snarled involuntarily and she shook her head, forcing herself to calm down. There was no sense in getting upset, especially not now. Nothing could be done about the situation, and it certainly wouldn't do to have her rampaging through Conran's home in the form of a bloodthirsty big cat.

Tarrah's hand travelled subconsciously to her throat, searching for the thousandth time for the missing pendant that she had lost in the forest. After everything that had happened to her, the loss of her mother's pendant seemed like the final straw.

"Tarrah, can I come in?"

Conran's voice through the door brought her out of her melancholy.

"Sure, go ahead."

Con pushed the door open and went over to the window seat to sit down.

"Link's awake, my mother says he's going to be fine… are you OK?"

Tarrah nodded and sat beside him.

"I'm fine, I'm just… well, I can't stop thinking about the forest."

"I've been wanting to talk to you about that," Con said quietly. "I think that my mother could help you. Do you remember that night in Fentar when I used magic?"

"Yeah," she replied, thinking that the incident seemed very far in the past to her.

"My mother's powers are very strong, I've heard people talking about them and I've seen her perform the simplest spells without breaking into a sweat. If anyone can work out how to break the curse, it's her."

Tarrah smiled, slightly amused by the overwhelming faith that her friend had in his mother.

"Doesn't she have enough to deal with at the moment?"

"Well after tomorrow night we have a whole month to wait before the curse can set in again, and by then everything will have sorted itself out. It'll be alright."

Tarrah smiled weakly and Con felt concerned again.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing, it's stupid really."

"I bet it isn't. What is it?"

Tarrah sighed.

"My necklace, the one my mother gave me. I lost it in the forest. I told you it was stupid," she added, seeing the smile on Conran's face.

"It's not stupid at all, I'm smiling because that's one problem I think I can help you with."

He reached into his pocket and produced from it the silver necklace he had picked up from the forest floor.

"Is this it?"

Tarrah's eyes widened in delight and her face broke into the first real smile he had seen on her since they had left the forest. He smiled back and reached around her neck, fastening the chain for her and watching delightedly as she stared at the opal that hung at her breastbone.

"You're the best," Tarrah murmured, flinging her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly.

Getting over his initial shock, Con hugged her back and was shocked to feel her head

resting upon his shoulder.

"Um, my mother asked you to come and get you for dinner."

The pair broke apart suddenly and embarrassedly at the interruption made by Caron at the door. The petite redhead stared at Tarrah with a look of seething jealousy that the two older teens were oblivious to before Conran answered.

"Thank you Caron, we're just coming."

Caron muttered something under her breath before storming from the room.

"What's her problem?" Tarrah asked.

"Who knows? That girl's odd," Con replied. "Well, shall we go?"

* * *

Dinner had been a surprisingly empty affair for Zelda that night. While Conran and Tarrah relived their adventures for Arran and vice versa, she had eaten little, tasting nothing while watching the door, waiting for it to swing open and reveal Link, as happy and carefree as she had always remembered him to be. The meal wore on, and there was still no sign of him. Gradually the candles in the hall burnt lower and one by one the diners made their excuses and departed for bed.

Soon Zelda was alone in her room, watching the very last candle burn out to its last as the moon rose high in the sky.

_"It'll be morning soon, the candles have almost gone out."_

_"So?"_

_"So I ought to be going. I'll be missed."_

_"Don't go. Stay."_

_"I love you."_

"Stop it," she told herself. "That was all a very long time ago. You're just going to torture yourself thinking about it all."

She lay there in her bed for a while longer, trying to sleep but every time she did phantoms from her past danced before her eyes, enticing and enchanting with their promise of things that had long since ceased to be. Sleep continued to elude her, and part of her suspected - hoped - that in another wing of the Keep it eluded someone else as well.

* * *

__

Link stood out in the gardens of Zelda's home, his eyes fixed on the crescent moon that hung in the sky above the land. He had been bored of his room, unable to sleep because of all the rest he had taken and because of the thousand and one thoughts that continued to plague him. So now he stood in the overgrown grounds, trying to piece together the complicated jigsaw that made up his feelings.

"Couldn't you sleep either?"

He felt no need to turn and identify the speaker, he had always been able to feel Zelda's presence before she was close to him. Her hair was loose and stirring in the light breeze, brushing against her pale, bare shoulder. The simple white nightgown she wore was almost luminescent in the moonlight, giving her an ethereal appearance. She was beautiful, untouchable, and unattainable. In answer, he shook his head.

"There are too many things that I have to think about for me to sleep."

"Care to unburden any of your troubles on me?"

At that he turned to face his hostess, the moonlight illuminating his features and making him seem younger to her.

"You're the source of most of them."

"Link..."

Zelda frowned and moved closer to him, wrapping her green shawl around her shoulders to blot out the chill night air.

"I don't like being your enemy Link, not when there's been so much between us. I know that things are... complicated between you and I, but despite our past I still value you as a very dear friend."

He stared at her face, still as beautiful as ever, and swallowed hard.

"I can't be your friend Zelda, not anymore. You know that."

With that he walked past her, brushing her shoulder roughly as he did so. Zelda however was having none of that, and caught his wrist in her hand.

"You can't walk away from me with only that as an explanation," she said softly. "We _have _to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about. You made yourself perfectly clear earlier."

"You know that's not true. We have _got _to sort this thing out because otherwise we're going to make things very complicated for us and those we care about. They have enough to worry about at the moment, I don't want to add to their burdens."

Link resisted the urge to pout and fold his arms with an accompanying 'humph.' Zelda watched his face intently, and he instantly dreaded his inability to hide things from her.

"That's what I like about you Link, however much the outside may have altered inside you haven't changed a bit," she commented dryly.

"You weren't complaining about me the last time we met," he bit back.

"You didn't give me reason to, you weren't so exasperating."

Her expression softened as she took his hand and led it to her cheek, her gaze burning into his soul so intensely that he had to lower his eyes. He felt his heart begin to quicken, as it had always done whenever he touched her. Realising he was approaching dangerous territory, he wrenched his hands from hers.

"Please Zelda, don't."

"Wh-"

"Just don't. I can't handle it."

Knowing that his resolve was slowly crumbling, he turned and left her standing alone as he walked back towards the keep.

"Do you honestly hate me that much?" Zelda cried. "It wasn't my fault!"

Over the years she had learnt to tolerate many things, but she knew that if he hated her everything she had struggled so hard to become would dissolve in a moment.

"I don't hate you," he replied.

"Then why! Why are you being like this?"

He stopped and looked back over his shoulder, gradually turning as he spoke.

"Because you left. You _left_! After everything, _everything _that we had you gave it up. I can't open that wound again, it damn nearly broke me the first time."

Zelda stared at him in shock.

"I've tried and I've tried to get over it, but I can't. You've haunted me for sixteen years, I can't get you out of my head. Every night when I try to go to sleep you're there. I see your face every time I close my eyes, I hear your voice in the silence, I feel you in my arms every night and just when I thought that I was over it, over you, your son comes into my life and that inevitably leads me back to you. I can't win, the gods are laughing at me." He composed himself with a deep breath before speaking again. "I don't want you anymore."

He stood staring at her, his chest heaving as he struggled to keep his breathing under control. Zelda seemed to crumple before him and then she whispered something that he was certain he had misheard.

"What did you say?" he asked softly.

She closed the distance between them, her heart fluttering against her ribs like a bird trapped in a cage.

"I still love you," she repeated. "My feelings have never changed for you. Never."

"Don't tell me this," he pleaded, trying to break away from her.

Zelda placed her hand over his heart, shaking uncontrollably with nerves as she did.

"I'm telling you the truth Link. I love you, just as much as I did then, and if you had any idea how much I've wanted you to know that over the years then..."

She sighed and searched his face for any effect that her words might be having.

"I know that it's crazy for me to be talking like this, but when it comes down to it this whole situation is crazy. I didn't want to go, you know I didn't. More than anything I wanted to stay with you and be happy. I know I should have been satisfied with the husband that I was given but how could I be? Without you, nothing meant anything."

She tiptoed up to kiss his cheek softly, but he stopped her by grabbing hold of her wrists.

"Do you really mean that?"

"I'm not a liar Link."

"It's a shame I am, then."

He grabbed her voraciously and covered her mouth with his, drinking life from her lips as though she were the rain after a long and dry summer. She sighed in his arms and kissed him back, slipping into the joyful ecstasy of being near him. It was only once the kiss was broken and she found herself fighting for her breath that she realised she was crying. Link smirked and ran his thumbs below her eyes, smiling softly as he caressed the skin of her cheeks.

"I want you more than anything I've ever wanted in my whole life," he murmured.

She laughed happily and snuggled up against his chest.

"Then it is a good thing that I'm still yours, isn't it?"

* * *

A.A: Ladies and Gentlemen, thus ends Vagabond-

Link: What? What the bloody what?!

Zelda: I object!

Navi: Oh my gods, you can't do that. You just can't, it doesn't work!

A.A: Guys…

Link: I haven't gotten any! Zelda hasn't gotten any! That was so a build up for a passionate reconciliation scene!

Zelda: Yeah!

A.A: Hello?

Navi: I thought you said that this fic was going to be an epic! Seems it's an anti-climax!

Zelda: I'll say! Bloody hell woman, have you forgotten Dilandau features on _my _throne?

Link: I thought there was supposed to be a kick ass battle sequence!

Link, Zelda and Navi glare at anime animal.

A.A: clears throat Er herm! I think you will find that I was about to say 'thus ends Vagabond's first book Vagabond Part I: The Journey. If you would be so kind as to let me finish, I will go on to say that Part II: The Past will begin with the next chapter of the story: coming soon to a computer near you!


	13. A Princess of the Blood

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda and all that belong therein are property of Nintendo and the brainchildren of Shigeru Miyamoto.

**_Vagabond II: The Past_**

A Princess of the Blood

_Sixteen years earlier…_

"Long before the kingdom of Hyrule was established there was a great and magnanimous king who ruled the land. Hours before his death his queen bore twin sons, who for years were known as the nameless kings, as their father had not bestowed names upon them. They were called Albus and Hylus, and were the closest of brothers, as close in life as they were in the womb, until they became men. Their mother, Periea, had held the throne in trust for the elder of the twins, Albus, until his coming of age. Corrupted by the power of ruling a kingdom, Albus became paranoid and banished his brother from the land, fearful of having his throne taken from him. Years passed, and while Hylus prospered living his nomadic lifestyle, his father's kingdom deteriorated under the rule of his brother. Albus expected tribute to be paid to him far too frequently, and those who would not tithe were punished severely. Soon, his prosperous kingdom was in ruins.

Hylus soon heard of the troubles that were upon the land of his birth, and so he resolved to challenge his brother for the throne in order to save the kingdom. Although he still loved his brother after all the hardship he had faced, Hylus' love for his country surpassed the bond of kinship. And so Hylus returned, and his followers took back the land from his brother. Eventually the nameless twins faced each other in battle, yet Hylus could not bring himself to kill his brother. Albus held no such qualms, and as he moved to administer the _coup de grace_ he was struck down by the Golden Sisters. Such was their love for the land and for Hylus that they could not stand idly by and see the kingdom fall into ruin, and so they had been forced to intervene. Hylus embodied all that that They believed a ruler should be, and so the three goddesses entrusted the throne to him. Farore offered to Hylus her daughter, Shadra, as his queen, and from their children sprung the golden Royal House of Hyrule, the country named after its great and noble new king. As for Albus, he was banished forever from the kingdom by his brother, never to return."

Mentes smiled as his pupil closed the great leather bound book and rested her dainty hands upon the cover.

"Are you able to tell me why King Hylus is still regarded to be the greatest ruler in the county's history, my lady?"

Princess Zelda nodded eagerly.

"In Hylus was found the perfect ideal for a ruler," she began. "He was good and true, and was prepared to sacrifice those he held dear in order to ensure the wellbeing of his country. He was rewarded by the gods for his worth, and unlike his brother was bound by the ancient laws that condemn shedding the blood of kin, which saw him to be the better of the two to rule the kingdom. Many believe that someday the nameless kings will return, and Hylus will once again rise to restore harmony to the kingdom. Or one of his bloodline," she added as an afterthought.

Mentes smiled and nodded, leaning back against the window-ledge with a sigh. He could listen to the princess for hours and never once feel bored with her conversation. She relished the history and mythology of her country with an enthusiasm that defied her years, and it never ceased to amaze him how she could throw a completely new edge onto some of the older, more obscure myths.

"Hylus was also wise beyond all compare," he said smoothly. "A trait which he has passed onto his youngest descendent."

Zelda blushed and lowered her eyes to her lap.

"Master, my head will expand to enormous proportions if you continue to flatter me so."

The tutor chuckled and patted the princess on her shoulder.

"You are much too modest for your own good, child. I fear I have held you captive for much too long today, you should go and socialise with someone a little more interesting than I. Besides, your father will undoubtedly call upon my services shortly."

His words were rewarded with a dazzling smile.

"Thank you for your time, Master."

"As always princess, it was my pleasure and privilege."

He had been alone for all of five minutes when the door to the library was opened.

"Ah, Master Mentes. I thought that I might find you here."

Mentes rose to his feet in the presence of the king, offering him a bow as he did so. King Harkinian remained an imposing figure even at fifty with his broad shoulders, great height and tawny mane of hair that had been streaked with silver over the last ten years. As a young man he had been truly terrifying, a force to be reckoned with in the army and a precocious talent in matters of politics, even now he could inspire fear from any party just by shooting a ill-pleased look in their direction from his azure eyes.

"I am impressed that you still choose to spend your time in the library; I would have thought you were bored all of the books in here by now."

"Certainly not sire. The day I find a book boring is the day I find my body given back to the gods."

"Indeed," the king laughed. "My friend, I would very much like to have your opinion on a new man who may be Tallis' replacement."

"Oh?"

"Yes, he is from the south and I have only heard good things about him. Man named Dezauras, would you come and assess him with me?"

* * *

"Well that wasn't stupid or anything."

Link rubbed the impending bruised spot on his backside and glared at Malon who was making no attempt to hide her giggles. Epona was watching him with a look of superiority, somehow managing to look condescending as she cropped at the grass.

"You talked her into doing that," he grumbled.

"I did not," Malon protested. "You're the moron who…"

She could not contain herself any longer and collapsed into guffaws of laughter as Link walked towards Epona with intent.

"Women, honestly," he muttered. "Alright you, c'mere."

The mare lifted her head and looked at him, flicking her ears as she did so.

"Right, we're going to try this one more time, and you're not going to try any funny business or else no carrots for a week."

Epona's ears flicked back and she started to walk away in the opposite direction.

"Wha-? Epona!"

"Face it Link, she's never going to let you joust on her," Malon called after him as he stalked after his horse.

"She will, she just needs to be persuaded. Gently."

Link's latest idea had been to erect a jousting dummy in order to teach him and Epona how to joust. He had seen posters for a tournament in town and had been attracted by the mention of a five hundred rupee purse for the winner of each event. Knowing that he could easily take home the prizes for the archery and swordplay, he decided to learn how to joust so that he could really set himself a challenge in the tourney.

"Come on Epona, I'll buy you a nice new blanket with the winnings."

Epona started to trot.

"And a sack of carrots, maybe two."

Malon desperately tried to hide her laughter from the already irritable Link but to no avail. The laughter bubbled free as her favourite mare promptly trotted up behind her and rested her head on her shoulder, shooting the extremely frustrated youth a dirty look.

"You redheads are all alike," Link grumbled as he leant against the railings of the paddock. "All I want to do is show you off girl, is that such a crime?"

Malon swallowed the last of her giggles.

"But Link, you're terrible at jousting and Epona hates being made to look bad."

The glare that Link issued in her direction only served to send her into a fresh spell of mirth.

* * *

As Dezauras regarded the castle's interior he could not help but be impressed by the fabulous tapestries and carvings that littered the chancellery. It was as though he had stepped from another world through the gilded bronze doors into the domain of the gods.

"His Royal Majesty, King Harkinian!"

And there was the father of the gods himself, striding through those same bronze doors as if they were nothing and as though he owned the whole world- which Dezauras reasoned he did, if one were to regard Hyrule as the world in its entirety. The eyes of the household guard were upon him expectantly and so the young minister obediently bowed low to the monarch, loath to do so as he was.

"Your Majesty," he drawled.

"Good day to you, Master Dezauras." The man's voice was deep and rumbled in his chest like thunder. "I have heard many great things of you, it is a pleasure to finally put a face to the name."

"Sire, you are too kind."

The old man behind the king looked amused with the conversation. The game of compliments and flattery was one played all too frequently at court, especially around kings and their advisers, and Dezauras knew all too well that if he were to succeed he would have to pull out every sycophantic trick in the book.

"It is too fine a day for us to be trapped indoors like this. Come, let us take a walk and you can tell me why you are the best man to take Tallis' place."

As it was and ever would be, the king spoke and his will was to be done. He strode from the circular chamber flanked by the two men while Dezauras appeared shocked. The man was going to select a principal advisor whilst taking a _walk_? So casually? As the trio left the chancellery, Dezauras noted that a pair of guards, clad in the ornamental armour of the household, were some three strides behind them with their swords palpable by their sides. Perhaps not such a casual affair then.

"What in the name of Din-?"

The king's exclamation was accompanied by a short intake of breath from the elderly man, and frankly Dezauras was bewildered as to what was so shocking about the sight in front of him.

A girl had just slipped out of a door, dressed in a soft green tunic and blue-grey leggings. From the expression on her face, and those of his companions, Dezauras could tell that she was not supposed to have been there.

"Explain yourself, madam."

King Harkinian was not impressed, and for an instant Dezauras saw a flash of fear cross the girl's face before her expression slipped into one of neutrality.

"I- I had hoped that I would spend the afternoon riding, father."

Dezauras performed a double take as he realised who the blonde vision before him was.

"Unescorted? In such attire as that?!"

"No father, Impa was going to take me. I would not dream of riding on my own, it is not befitting to one of my status."

Had Dezauras misheard, or had the girl's voice adopted a tone of mockery?

"I should not think," the king began darkly, "that your Sheikah would allow you to ride in such obscene garments, though heaven knows she wears them herself. Where is your riding habit?"

Two spots of very rosy pink had appeared on the princess' high cheekbones and were the only indication of her irritation. Dezauras was intrigued, especially when the princess seemed determined to avoid her father's eyes.

"I do not have one. Your governess seems to think that riding is not an especially ladylike pastime and ordered one of the maids to get rid of it."

"So you are defying Lady Emteia?"

"Not so much defying but holding a difference of opinion. My mother was a keen horsewoman, was she not father? I trust that she was the very epitome of feminine grace and accomplishment, if the poets are to be believed."

Dezauras fought the urge to laugh at the princess' very valid point. Oh but she was feisty for one of her age and education. He had been involved with the castle for long enough to know that Princess Zelda's tutelage was centrally focused upon making the princess an attractive marriage prospect for foreign princes and giving her just enough knowledge so that she could be of use to her future husband when it came to running the kingdom. It had been the same within the royal household for centuries and as a result the female royals were regarded to be charming and inoffensive, demure and obedient at all costs, fine wives for great men.

The king's features had drawn into a frown.

"Return to your quarters and don something more suitable for one of your station and then you may ride with your attendant. I shall have words with Lady Emteia. You should not be so wilful in future daughter, it is not attractive."

He swept past his daughter, whose lips were pursed tightly to keep the retort on her tongue in check. The old man offered her a sympathetic smile while Dezauras merely fixed her with intense scrutiny. The princess was wilful alright, and more intelligent than he would have given her credit for. He had never been a fan of the simpering, obedient ladies of court, and finding the highest female in the kingdom to be as far from the social stereotype as possible was a refreshing and intriguing discovery.

"I apologise for my daughter, gentlemen," the king was saying. "Some days I find myself longing to have her married so that she can learn her place."

The old man laughed weakly, in addition to the chuckle that escaped Dezauras.

_Very interesting…_

* * *

Kal was irritated.

The preparations for the tournament were not going according to plan; his latest bunch of recruits had turned out to be severely disappointing and he had just learnt that his least favourite pupil of all time had just received a promotion.

And to top it all off, his favourite horse had trotted up lame this morning, messing up his hopes for the tournament joust.

His mood had failed to improve as he approached Lon Lon Ranch to make enquiries about purchasing a new horse, but as he entered the coral his mood had rapidly made a change for the better.

A young lad was in the paddock, having set up a jousting dummy, and was working with the pretty chestnut mare that Kal had always admired. The boy's face was a mask of determination as he held the mare at a steady canter, his lance clutched securely in his right hand as he charged at the target on the dummy. He hit the circular board squarely, and then ducked as the sandbag swung around. Pure poetry.

"Hah! So I'm crap am I Malon?"

Kal chuckled and alerted the two youngsters to his presence.

"I wouldn't say crap, but I would say you need to strengthen up your right arm, you need all the power you can get to unseat a rider."

It was at that precise moment that Talon led a dun mare out from the stable and laughed.

"Well if it ain't Captain Kal! How's that mare I sold you last spring?"

"Doing well thank you Talon, really helped me out of a jam. I was hoping you could help me out again."

"I'll see what I can do, why don't you come with me now? Mally, can you trot Wren up for me and see if she's still lame?"

"Will do Pop."

Kal glanced across at Epona as Talon's daughter took the dun's lead-rope from her father.

"How about the red mare, is she for sale?"

"Epona?" Talon scratched the top of his head. "She sure is a beut isn't she?"

"She's not for sale though," Malon said gently. "She's Link's horse."

"Nice beast," Kal replied, turning to the boy. "Talon's trained her well, you be sure to take care of her."

"Link and Mally trained her together," Talon commented. "Would you believe that five years ago the boy didn't even know what a horse was?"

Kal glanced across at the boy, who seemed rather uncomfortable to be under such close scrutiny. His horse tossed her elegant neck, seeming to know that she was also being discussed and taking the opportunity to flaunt her good looks.

"Seems to me that you are a natural, young man," Kal commented. "If you'd like, I could give you some proper joust training for the tourney. _If_ that's what you're training for of course."

"That'd be great!" Just like that the boy's discomfort had vanished and was replaced with an enthusiastic smile. "If it's not too much trouble that is."

"No trouble at all," the soldier replied. "In fact it would give me something enjoyable to do for once. Let me finish up with Talon and we'll head off."

The boy beamed, and Kal was not too preoccupied to miss the reaction from Talon's daughter as he walked past her towards the barn.

"Link, do you know who that man is?"

"No. Why?"

"Because he's Captain Kal, that's why. He's in charge of recruiting and training soldiers for the Royal Guard. And he wants to train _you_."

Kal chuckled. Even after all these years he was still amused by the reaction he could get from youngsters.

* * *

Zelda's mare trotted along daintily, portraying all the beauty and elegance which she had been bred for. Normally it delighted the princess to see how well her horse was carrying herself, but today the girl sat quietly in the saddle, her eyes fixed on a spot between the horse's ears as she and Impa rode out from the stables.

"Is something bothering you, Zelda?"

"Not really Impa, it's just nothing."

"Just nothing?" Impa pulled her gelding up to a halt. "I've known you too long to believe you when you say you're troubled by nothing."

Zelda smiled wanly.

"I suppose I'm being silly but…"

"But what?"

"If you'd let me finish I'd tell you!"

"Yes, but I know that tone of voice and you were trailing off. Nothing gets past me Zelda, you know that and I know that so there's no disputing the matter."

The Sheikah was satisfied with the laugh that her charge emitted.

"Well?"

"I'm just having a bad day Impa, it's nothing to worry about."

Impa looked at her again.

"I might have had a run in with my father before I left. It isn't important."

"Zelda…

"It's not. He was just being his usual, overbearing self and trying to show himself off as the almighty ruler of Hyrule to some new minister, which of course meant he was surly and rude to his only daughter in order to look good. Not that it bothers me anymore." She frowned. "It's just he was talking about marriage, and the thought of that terrifies me more than I ever thought it would do."

"Mmm..."

They rode on in silence for a few more strides before a sly smile spread across Impa's features.

"I've just seen something that will cheer you up."

* * *

"That's enough for now lad, we've got to pay our respects to the princess."

After two hours of joust training from Kal, both Link and Epona were covered in sweat and hankering after a drink. Link was convinced that he'd made some progress, but he soon learnt that Kal was not liberal with his praise or compliments. He did however shower Epona with praise, which in Link's book was always a good thing (and indirect acclaim to himself). However, sweat and thirst aside, the prospect of seeing Zelda was a bright one. It had been over a month since he'd seen her. Sure enough, there was Zelda on a small grey mare, trotting along the path from the stables with Impa beside her on her own grey.

"Hey Zelda!"

Almost immediately the jovial atmosphere around the training grounds shifted to one of hostility. Sparring partners paused, archers lowered their bows and most eyes turned to the boy in the jousting grounds. Almost immediately Kal was by Epona's head, his face furious.

"Boy, how dare you show such a lack of respect! I should box your ears for thi-"

"Link!"

Within moments, the princess had dismounted and run to the edge of the paddock.

"What are you doing here?"

"Captain Kal's giving me some jousting training," Link replied, sliding out of the saddle and realising how stiff he was as he hit the ground. "I would hug you-"

"Oh don't you dare, you're dripping with sweat!" Zelda laughed. "I had no idea you were so unfit."

"Cheeky little-"

Impa took a glance at Kal's bewildered face and suppressed her own urge to laugh.

"Why don't you two go off and let off some steam. I'll cover for you, princess."

Zelda's face immediately lit up, and before anyone could voice a protest she had set her horse trotting back down the path she had come from with Link following behind. Kal scratched his beard and glanced at the Sheikah with a look of bafflement.

"I know that the princess is your responsibility but…"

"Captain, I would trust that boy with my life, let alone the princess'. You may not know him well enough to realise it yet, but young Link is not like ordinary boys his age. In fact, he is quite extraordinary."

Kal said nothing, watching as the two youngsters rode out of sight on their horses.

"I hear you're still looking for a squire."

"And if I am?"

"I could think of worse boys to fill the position."

"He certainly seems keen to learn how to joust, but that doesn't necessarily mean he'll be any good at other knightly disciplines."

Impa had dismounted and was helping Kal to disassemble the jousting arena.

"Link has been better than most adults with a sword since he was ten years old, and as you know time can only improve swordsmanship. He's totally fearless, dedicated to his task and a quick learner. Plus he has no parents to interfere with your teaching."

She knew that this last detail would interest Kal hugely, as his least favourite aspect in bringing on squires was having to deal with overbearing relatives.

"He's an orphan?"

"Never knew his father, and his mother died when he was a baby, from what I know."

Kal was gathering up the practice lances, his brow drawn in thought.

"It would certainly be better than having some relative of that shit Wrel," he admitted. "How that arrogant little weasel wormed his way into training guards is beyond me."

* * *

"You have no idea how much of a relief it is to get out of the castle," Zelda sighed as she and Link crossed the drawbridge. "I think I'll go insane before too long."

Hyrule was in the midst of a characteristically beautiful autumn, filled with days of moderately warm sunshine and light, chilled breezes that hailed the oncoming winter. The leaves on the trees had turned from their traditional summer wardrobe of intense greens to the warm, rich tones of gold and bronze that rustled like paper every time they were stirred by the puffs of air that teased them.

"Really? How come?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"Oh, OK."

Zelda noted he sounded rather put out by her reluctance to confide in him.

"It's nothing important Link, it's all political."

"Oh, well in that case thanks for not boring me."

The princess laughed and all at once felt her anxieties leave.

"So what are we going to do with ourselves?"

"Dunno, thought we might hang about in the forest causing general chaos wherever we go," Link suggested. "Mido was harvesting a pretty big pile of leaves last time I checked. He'd just hate it if anyone mucked it about."

"You, master Hero, are a bad influence on me," Zelda giggled.

"And you love me because of it," he countered with an angelic grin. "Nice mare by the way."

"Don't think she looks too pretentious?"

"Well she's a little showy for my tastes but as you're a girl I'll excuse it."

"And Epona isn't showy, I suppose?"

As if she had heard, Epona turned her head in Zelda's direction before appearing to roll her eyes and turn her attention back to the ride ahead.

"Epona's different," Link appraised. "We only do showy if we get something out of it."

"Love _is_ blind, they tell me."

Link chose to ignore her last comment.

"Fancy a race? Wazzername-"

"Pearl."

"Pearl?!" He silenced any jokes he might have had at after receiving a glare from Zelda. "Pearl looks good, but can she run?"

Without waiting for his challenge to be accepted, Link gave Epona the gentlest of squeezes with his calves and they were off, inducing Pearl to spring off after them and give chase.

"You little cheat!"

* * *

Dezauras felt that his meeting had gone really rather well. The king, despite his imposing appearance, was trusting to a fault and far too eager to bestow his friendship upon the men of his council. The council themselves, Dezauras had learnt, were made up from wise nobility mostly, so he knew that he would have no trouble ingratiating himself upon them. His family were wealthy and he, the only son, stood to inherit everything upon the death of his father. Their blood was noble, nobler and older than many of the more prominent Hylian families. Dezauras had always taken pride in his bloodline, perhaps now more than ever.

"Sire, might I suggest something regarding the tournament?"

The king regarded him warmly.

"If you would like to, Lord Dezauras."

"Earlier you mentioned that you were considering finding a suitor for your daughter."

The shadow of a frown crossed the king's handsome face.

"Yes, but not just yet. She is still only fifteen, after all."

"There is no harm in searching for a husband for her, sire. Invite neighbouring royalty, see how many take interest. It could be a long betrothal, and most advantageous to Hyrule should she find a husband who would support the kingdom."

Harkinian looked impressed.

"We shall see," he said with a slight smile. "I think that you will do very well in my council, Dezauras."

"I live to serve Your Majesty."

* * *

"Do you ever wonder what it would have been like if I hadn't sent us back?"

Link kept his eye on the target ahead of him, not letting his attention waver from pot he'd positioned on a tree stump.

"Sometimes, just after it happened and before I went to Termina."

"Do you wish that I hadn't?"

He let his arrow fly before making his answer. The pottery smashed as he turned to face the princess.

"Do you?"

"Sometimes." Zelda took the bow from him and aimed for the next pot. "Sometimes when I find myself really exasperated with the way I'm treated. But why should thousands of people have to sacrifice their happiness just to satisfy my silly little desire to be respected? It's better this way."

She loosened her arrow and missed the mark slightly. Link ignored the mistake and kept looking at her.

"You don't say that like you mean it."

"Oh just ignore me, I'm being stupid," she returned with a brilliant smile. "Honestly, next time I start moaning you have my full permission to throw me in a pond."

"Is that a promise?"

Zelda laughed, and the melancholy air around them evaporated.

"What is it about you and your ability to turn everything into a joke?"

Link shrugged, grinning irrepressibly.

"It's a gift, what can I say? Life's too stupid to take seriously."

"Well there's an interesting philosophy."

"Try it," he taunted. "Makes for interesting results. I'm only serious with a sword in my hand."

"Praise be to the gods, else we'd be faced with an armed, rampaging moron."

She regretted her comment the moment it left her lips as Link's eyebrow quirked upwards and an evil smirk flashed across his mouth.

"You were moaning Zelda, time to take the plunge."

"I was not," she protested, backing away from her so-called friend.

"Were too," he replied simply.

"Oh shut up. I mean it Link, if you even try it I'll-"

"You'll what?" His grin was irrepressible. "You forget princess that I'm bigger and stronger than you."

"Just," Zelda returned.

Link's height was a sore point between them. While Zelda had held at least an inch's advantage over him for four years, he had finally outgrown her in the summer and used every opportunity to rub the fact in.

"Just or not, I'm still able to throw you over my shoulder like a serving wench."

"You try it and you're newly acquired masculine vocal chords will revert to the status of a small boy."

"Hey, you leave the twins out of this!" Link retorted, casting a nervous glance at the area below his belt. "Farore princess, you're turning into a total shrew."

He grinned and took up his bow.

"I like it." With that, he fired a perfect bulls-eye with minimum concentration required. "And that is a grand total of fifteen Rupees you owe me now."

"You cheated on the horse race," Zelda replied, reluctantly reaching into her money purse. "I'll give you ten."

"Give me ten _and _the concession that I am a far superior horseman to you any day and we'll call it even."

"You already know that you're a superior horse_man_ to me Link."

"Stop using pretty words to get you out of trouble Zel, it won't work on me."

"No, I suppose it won't."

"Because I know you too well."

"Precisely."

"And if I wanted to get something out of you I'd just have to blackmail you. Tell me, is the handsome Sir Gillum still on guard duty these days?"

Zelda had harboured a secret crush on Sir Gillum ever since he had heroically and manfully strode across the castle's ornamental pond to rescue one of the princess' favourite silk shawls on a particularly windy day a year earlier.

"Oh you wouldn't."

"I wouldn't if you just admitted what we both know to be true."

The princess frowned, folding her arms across her chest with a pout on her lips before they quirked upwards in a sinister looking smile.

"Well I suppose that if I were to do that, then I might have to make a diplomatic visit to Zora's Domain. I hear that Ruto has been asking after you."

Link's face fell.

"You are sadistic."

"I learnt from the best," she retorted, grinning proudly.

She notched an arrow in her bow and fired, shattering the clay pot that Link had set as a target.

"I'm impressed," her companion admitted. "You weren't kidding when you said you were a fast learner."

In the heart of a forest, a wolf howled to hail in the sunset and Zelda froze.

"Please don't tell me that it's as late as I think it is."

"OK, I won't."

"Damnit!" Frantically Zelda began to gather up her things. "Do you have any idea how much trouble I'm going to be in when I get home? I left things badly enough with my father earlier, the last thing I want to do is turn up late for dinner."

"You won't. We can warp back to Hyrule with Ocarina and I'll drop your mare back later. No one will know."

"That's beside the point," Zelda snapped, a little more tersely than she had intended. "I'm enough of a headache in my father's eyes already; I don't want to give him any further evidence to support his theory."

For a moment Link wanted to pursue Zelda's comment about her father, thinking that it had something to do with her less than positive mood earlier that afternoon, although one look at her panicked face told him not to bother.

"Zelda, calm down OK? I'll get you back in time, you have my word." With that he produced the Ocarina of Time from one of his pouches and grabbed her around the waist. "Temple of Time, here we come."

* * *

True to his word, Link had ensured that Zelda was present on time for her dinner that night, not only punctual but clean and scrubbed immaculately. He had also kept his promise to return Pearl, who he returned to the stables after thoroughly putting her through her paces. Horses were his weakness behind swords, he had to admit. There was something about riding Epona, who he had built up such a close relationship with that they almost thought in synchrony, that thrilled him like nothing else, particularly when the pair would gallop flat out on a misty morning as the sun was rising, with the wind fanning the mare's lustrous flaxen man and whipping the long strands in her riders face. No horse came close to comparing with her, not even Zelda's well bred, well schooled little mare.

He rode her into the castle stable yard as the moon was beginning to peek over the horizon, and not a soul was about to bother him. One of the guards was extremely familiar with Link and had let him pass unhindered, urging him to be quick so as not to get caught by a less understanding member of the armed security. It seemed that the king was shaking up the defence, making it more efficient. Link privately agreed with him, although he wasn't about to admit it as so few of the new recruits would let him into the castle grounds.

The stables were deserted with the exception of a few cats and dozing stable-lad, who nodded as Link led Pearl past him. He found the mare's stable quickly and set about washing down her sweaty coat.

"I've got a proposition for you, boy."

Link glanced up at the voice and then frowned as he recognised the captain from Lon Lon Ranch, looking at him pointedly and holding a pail of what looked like bran-mash.

"Umm…"

"Impa informs me that you and the princess are well acquainted, and that you are looking for a way of being able to keep in close contact with the castle."

Kal watched as the boy's dark blue eyes met his sceptically from over the grey mare's withers.

"And if I am?"

"I'm looking for a squire, have been for a while but there didn't seem to be anyone I gelled with. I think that I could tolerate you, however. Would you be interested?"

"What's in it for me?"

His tone remained doubtful.

"I train you in the ways of the sword, chivalry and the court of His Majesty. You serve me by helping with my horse, my weapons and my armour-"

"Basically you want me to be your dogsbody."

Link covered Pearl with a light blanket and thatched it with straw.

"That's not what I'm saying at all. You want to make it into royal circles without being laughed at, but you are at a disadvantage by having no family or history in order to buy your favour. Not many knights would even look at you, let alone let you become their squire. Despite the fairytales, no-one can get by in this world without connections."

Link remained silent, continuing to tend to the mare quietly.

"I don't think that there's much I can teach you with a sword," Kal continued. "In fact, I'd wager you could teach me a thing or two when it comes to swordplay. However, and I don't mean this unkindly, you're sorely lacking in the chivalry department."

He smiled as he saw a sour look cross the boy's face.

"I hate the idea as much as you appear to do, but unfortunately no-one can get anywhere in higher social circles without the ability to buddy up to those with bluer blood than their own. What a man does with his life, no matter how skilled or brave he may be, means shit without having the right connections."

"I have the right connections. I'm Sworn Brother to Darunia, I'm friendly with the princess of the Zoras and the chief of the Gerudo and, most importantly, Princess Zelda is one of my closest friends and-" he stopped himself before revealing their shared connection with the Sacred Realm.

"All of that is a start, but without favour from the king you'll get nowhere fast. I can help you make the right friends, but you're going to have to work with me. What do you say?"

Link patted Pearl's neck, looking thoughtful as Kal poured the pail of bran-mash into the stone feed-basin. The captain scratched the mare on the withers as she buried her muzzle into the feed.

"When do we start?"

Kal fought to hide his smile.

"After the tournament. See how well you do there, and once you've got all eyes on you then we'll work on getting you knighted."

* * *

A.N:

1) So this was horrendously late in coming, I know, but I can't tell you how hard this chapter has been to write. The thing is, I'm absolutely certain how to write most parts of this second 'book' but I had no idea how to get the ball rolling. I am hoping that this is the right way to go, even if I am borrowing slightly from a well known feature of one of my other stories. Now that I'm back on track, the next chapter shouldn't be too long in following, so just keep your fingers crossed.

2) If any of you have any desire to see something totally beautiful and Vagabond related, please visit the amazingly talented Louisa's (of ) deviantART site and check out this baby: Shower it with praise and love, people.

3) I have been obsessively playing the Minish Cap since I bought it on Saturday and I was most amused to find that there's a sword-fighting tournament in it. Just made me chuckle.

Once again, very sorry about it being late and I hope that this mammoth chapter is of some compensation!

xxx a.a.


	14. The King, the Knight and the Pawn

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda is ©Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto and has been for the past two decades. As I'm not two decades old until next year, I don't see how I could possibly claim to be in a position of ownership…

Vagabond II: The Past

The King, the Knight and the Pawn

It was a grey, autumnal day the morning that the tournament fell, with every suggestion of rain as the drizzle began to emerge in the small hours after dawn. Heavy rain the day before had turned the grounds around the castle into a slippery, muddy soup that looked seriously off-putting and had tournament officials in a frenzy trying to mix the mud with sand in order to help the going. Competitors had arrived as early as first light to assess the situation and as a result many had dropped out. That being said, a fair number of people had arrived and were watching the preliminaries with vocal admiration.

Aware of all problems faced by competitors, Zelda sat gazing out of the window while her tutor, an elderly noble woman named Emteia who had in her youth made a name out of her lovely manners which had made up for her total lack of any physical beauty. The fact that Emteia continued to believe herself a courtly beauty at the advanced age of fifty seven was an enormous joke, particularly to Zelda who would often try during moments of boredom to work out what sort of heavy duty tool she had used to apply her facial make up with that morning.

This morning Zelda was supposed to be sewing, a subject which she loathed and hated above all others and one she found both pointless and cripplingly boring. She could understand why one needed to be able to sew, but why she was being taught fancy stitch after fancy stitch was beyond her ken. Zelda allowed herself an amused smirk at the thought of herself in the guise of Sheik slinking about to offer Link help with her incredible running stitch skills.

_I know I'm meant to teach you a song now, Link, but wouldn't you rather learn how to do a lazy daisy stitch? You never know when you might need it…_

She had to bite on her knuckles to stop herself from laughing.

Emteia seemed to have finished with her lecture and smiled.

"Seeing as you have been so attentive this morning, Your Highness-"

_Bored rigid more like it,_ Zelda thought.

"-I think it would be acceptable for you to leave your studies early so that you can prepare yourself for this afternoon's tournament finals."

Scarcely believing her luck, Zelda curtsied politely and voiced her thanks before using her best 'graceful, floating' walk to put as much distance between herself and the governess as she could before bolting from her lesson to her bedroom with as much speed as she could muster. Anyone who did not know the princess well enough would have been shocked by this undignified and ungainly behaviour, and indeed so would her father had she not been perfectly aware that he was in a different part of the castle and unlikely to emerge until lunch. Suddenly a door flew open and Zelda had to rapidly apply the brakes to her speed.

"Slow down my lady, you're going to end up breaking your neck!"

Zelda breathed an enormous sigh of relief.

"Oh master Mentes, I thought you were someone else."

"Like your father, mmm?"

"Yes. But thankfully you're not him, so I can breathe easy without the threat of another two hours with Emteia."

"Your aversion to your tutelage is entertaining, Your Highness."

Zelda resisted the urge to pout childishly and instead opted for another heavy sigh.

"My aversion is to being treated like an ignorant fool who is incapable of having her own opinions or brain."

"I can understand how someone of your talents would feel frustrated by that, but give it time. A woman with your knowledge and grasp of politics is a rarity."

The constant reiteration of that fact left Zelda wishing that she had either been born male or at least to a Gerudo mother, as they never bothered to let the taboos of Hylian society hinder their education.

"Might I ask what today's lesson entailed?"

"You may, provided you don't find the finer points of needlework too tedious."

Mentes reacted with a slight chuckle, particularly when he caught the look of disgust on the princess' face as she suppressed the memory of her lesson.

"I understand perfectly, Highness," he admitted. "I suppose that you are free to attend the tournament now?"

"I am, thank the gods. My friend is entering, it should be a good day, if the weather can control itself for long enough."

"This would be that boy Link who you have told me about?"

Zelda nodded.

"He's been working like a dog for the last three weeks trying to teach himself and his horse how to joust, I can't wait to see how he's got on."

oOo

Link muttered yet another curse as Epona followed him through the drizzle to the hitching rail that had been set up for the competitors' horses, wishing that he could throttle the idiot who had invented bunting. Epona was edgy enough as it was with the bad conditions, she didn't need flapping, multi-coloured flags to spook her at every turn.

"She's just excited Link," Malon had told him as she finished stitching a tear in Link's Goron tunic. "Walk her around a bit and she'll calm down. Tunic's done."

"Don't see why I have to wear red anyway, I feel luckier in green," he grumbled.

"Because Captain Kal told you to," she replied, catching his Kokiri tunic as it flew towards her. "And as he's been good enough to take you on as his squire you have to show some respect to your lord."

"Someone's been reading up on her knightly code," Link teased as he adjusted the tunic over his borrowed suit of armour.

Malon flushed.

"You're not wearing the hat with it are you?"

"_Yes_ I'm wearing the hat."

"Oh Link."

"'Oh Link' what? He didn't say I _couldn't_ wear a hat." With that he plopped the red hat on top of his unruly blonde locks and grinned. "What do you think Eps?"

Epona butted his shoulder impatiently.

"See, she agrees that I should wear the hat."

"You are impossible," Malon sighed. "Well, you better get going otherwise Kal's going to fire you."

So now he was leading the still very excited Epona around the tournament grounds, noting the vast crowd of people waiting at the lists to sign up for their events and feeling smug about his early start that morning to get his name down early. The hitching posts, of course, were full and Link was beginning to feel nerves creeping into his stomach.

Of course, he'd never admit that to anyone.

His training with Kal had been going well, if not a little turbulently. Kal was the sort of man who expected his commands to be obeyed to the letter, and so he was a little shocked when Link turned up on the first day with a horse devoid of bridle.

"What in Din's name have you done that for?" he had asked.

"Epona works well off the leg," Link explained. "I figured it would be easier not to worry about reins when I can go just as well without them. She hates the bit anyway."

"If you want me to teach you boy, I expect both you and your horse to be fully equipped in the right gear, alright?"

"I think that I know my horse a little better than you do, _sir_," Link retorted.

It had been hugely satisfactory for Link when Epona proceeded to not only go beautifully without a bit but also bucked Kal off when he attempted to make her work in a bridle. Kal had had his revenge when he had stuck Link on top of his bad-tempered destrier Hoarfrost and watched with great pleasure as the headstrong beast carted him from one end of the practice arena to the other. What Kal would not admit to was how impressed he was that the boy managed to stay on.

"Nice to see you haven't wimped out," Kal commented.

He had tied his horse under the one tree that had not lost all of its foliage and was looking comfortably dry as a result.

"Wimp isn't a word in my vocabulary."

Kal grinned and then inspected Link's armour.

"Did a good job on the polishing last night lad, I'm impressed. Seems to fit you well enough too. How's it feel?"

"Claustrophobic."

"Fits just fine then," Kal laughed. "Warm the mare up. You've drawn a visiting lord first thing this afternoon, only the goddesses know where they've emerged from, there are nobles crawling out of the woodwork. Not even this goddess forsaken weather has put them off."

"Doesn't bother me," Link retorted, boosting himself into the saddle. "All the better for me when I beat them."

"You can curb your arrogance for one thing boy, nothing is settled until the last lance is broken and your opponent is on his backside looking up as his horse canters away. You ride each joust through to the end even if you're three points up, because anything can happen. Now go and warm up, you need to get the mare accustomed to the extra weight you're carrying."

oOo

Dezauras watched her as she moved elegantly through the corridors, a beam of sunshine breaking through the dark clouds of her surroundings. She was wearing a blue skirt and white blouse beneath a maroon velvet corset trimmed with gold silk brocade. A simple attire, made stunning by the gentle grace of the princess.

He found her presence extremely unsettling but at the same time profoundly exciting. Every now and then he would see her, either sneaking out wearing the informal attire he had first seen her in or daubed and decorated with the accoutrements befitting one of her status, and for a good hour or so he would not be able to think straight. She paid no more attention to him than common courtesy, but every time he found himself confronted with those wide blue eyes and that winning, intelligent smile, he could not deny by the end of his first month in the castle that he was extremely attracted to the king's fifteen year old daughter.

This unforeseen factor left Dezauras with an idea that thrilled him almost as much as Zelda's presence. She was young, beautiful and also possessed of a father who was seeking out a husband for her.

Dezauras could find no reason why he should not be that husband.

"Your Highness."

The princess turned, surprised at the presence of another.

"Lord Dezauras, you startled me."

He smiled and bowed politely.

"Off to watch the tournament I presume?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact I was."

"Then allow me the honour of escorting you."

For all of his knowledge of the world's politics, Dezauras knew next to nothing about the ways of women. Zelda had tensed before him.

"Your offer is kind sir," she replied evenly, "but unnecessary."

At that moment, as if sent by one of the most merciful goddesses or perhaps willed there by Zelda herself, Impa appeared from the shadows casting a frosty glance in Dezauras' direction. Without a word to the minister she nodded at her charge, draped a heavy blue cloak over her and followed her out of the corridor, mindful of his stare on the princess' form throughout the journey. Dezauras remained rooted to his spot, brooding carefully on the situation. That Sheikah always seemed to be around when it was least advantageous to him, it seemed. Why a girl approaching a marriageable age still required the service of a nanny was beyond Dezauras' comprehension; perhaps it was time to bring up the matter with the king.

oOo

Malon was chewing on a piece of straw when Kal joined her at the horse lines. Hastily she spat it out and swept her soaked hair out of her face, anxious to appear sophisticated in front of such a renowned figure but unable to hide her shiver of cold. She was conscientiously aware of how many of the other girls her age were nobility and dressed in the sort of outfits that her father would never be able to afford. She was also very aware how much Epona stood out amongst the mass of swarthy war-horses that had turned up, feathers ruffling in the breeze with their tails fanning out behind them. Two little red-heads sticking out like sore thumbs.

"Here." Kal covered her trembling shoulders with one of his horse blankets, seeing how she lacked a cloak of any kind and was absolutely frozen by the looks of things. "You shouldn't freeze to death on the sidelines."

"Thank you."

He studied her silent profile for a short while and noticed how nervous she looked.

"Don't you worry about that mare. What she lacks in bulk she makes up for in substance," Kal commented quietly. "Both of them will be fine, your beau won't let anything happen to her."

"Link's not my beau," Malon replied, trying not to smirk at the suggestion. "Anyway, I doubt he even knows what beau _is _let alone how to be one."

Kal chuckled before his companion let out an excited squeak.

"Oh look, there they are!"

Epona was prancing on her toes, trotting sideways towards the stands and snorting warily, the insides of her nostrils a violent scarlet colour that matched her jockey's tunic. Link was perfectly still, gently calming her with a pat on her shoulder. His hair was hanging lankly in his eyes, dripping wet and thoroughly in the way but he was not at all fazed by it. Epona shook her head violently and then stopped dead in her tracks, her ears pricked and alert to every sound before she let out a high pitched whinny.

"She's still a baby by competition standards," Kal said, seeing Malon's slightly panicked expression. "Link just has to keep her concentrating and relaxed and everything will be fine."

oOo

Had Link realised the overwhelming confidence that his teacher had in him he would perhaps have been a little calmer about the competition, but as it was he was as nervous as a mouse cornered by a cat and Epona was picking up on it. He had to calm himself down otherwise the whole thing would turn into a complete and utter disaster.

Epona flinched as a dog barked in the crowd and jolted Link back to his senses.

"OK baby, just cool it. We're going to get laughed at if we don't keep our heads."

Epona's ears flickered backwards then forwards.

"That's my girl. Look at all these people, they've come to see some jumped up noble win this thing, but we've got news for them. We'll show them."

He patted her shoulder comfortingly.

A huge grey warhorse danced past them, snorting loudly at every sound before almost crashing into a crowd barrier. His rider cursed audibly and yanked at the horse's reins before digging his spurs into the beast's ribs.

"Stupid beast, contain yourself!"

That was the one thing Link had noticed about his fellow contestants- they weren't slow to take out their anxiety on their horses. The sight sickened him.

In a few moments the parade would begin, followed by the first of the jousts. The field had halved in size due to the conditions, which meant that Link would have to power through his swordplay contests in order to get to his joust on time. He was scheduled to ride against a young nobleman called Derick in the first joust after the lunch break. Link had heard through the grapevine that the young lord had come to the tournament in the hopes of wooing Zelda, which made him all the more determined to beat him resoundingly.

"Alright lad?"

Kal and Hoarfrost trotted up beside them, the gelding dwarfing Epona with his burliness and height. Epona's ears flattened against her skull and her tail swished angrily.

"She's calmed down a fair bit," Link offered. "These other horses don't look to have much speed about them."

"You don't need speed Link, you need control. Don't go charging at them like a prize bull otherwise you'll come a cropper."

A pair of knights in shining silver armour trotted past on their mounts and immediately started laughing as the passed Link and Epona. The boy's face grew stony.

"Jumped up pricks," he muttered.

Kal smirked.

"I've drawn the biggest prick of them all," he confided in his squire. "See that Goron-sized lump over there having trouble on the roan?"

Link nodded, having already noticed the bulbous tub that had almost squashed the pretty little mare he was riding.

"Who is he?"

"That is Duke Phineas of Aratea, and if you think he looks bad now wait till you see what's _underneath_ the armour."

oOo

"Have you ever had one of those days when you felt that you were being used as a fancy piece of jewellery to be gawped at?" Zelda asked Impa behind the safety of a fan.

"I had noticed that you were getting more than the usual amount of attention today," the Sheikah replied grimly.

"I didn't think I was imagining it," the princess murmured.

Just then, a boy on a thoroughly overexcited horse toppled off as the animal shied. If his attention had been on his riding then perhaps he might have stayed on, but because he had been paying far too much attention to the royal box rather than his mount he and the horse parted company. Zelda made a polite effort to hide her smile.

"I believe I could use this to Link's advantage, perhaps I should find a dress with a lower neckline."

Behind the princess were seated a vast number of noble ladies, each dressed up to the nines and twittering like birds in an exotically coloured menagerie. Zelda had to wonder what they would be pulling out to wear for the ball this evening, and expected to see some thoroughly over the top and terrifying outfits. Every time a vaguely attractive young man came past, the fluttering of fans and eyelashes increased tenfold, followed by the hum of conversation as each woman tried to work out which of them the desired male had been looking at. Their husbands seemed less impressed.

"Sir Gillum looks particularly fine today," one of the women commented. "I should not be surprised were he to win this year."

"Captain Kal is the favourite," her husband replied stonily. "Gillum couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag."

"Young Lord Derick has certainly grown since I last saw him, that's a very nice horse he's riding."

"I'd put my money on Rollen, his stallion's been doing wonderful things on the tournament field. I keep meaning to ask if he's used for stud…"

"No-one's been stupid enough to put money on Phineas have they? His horse looks like its legs are about to give out."

Zelda listened to the idle chit-chat with half an ear as she watched Link trotting Epona up and down the field. Suddenly a fanfare echoed around the grounds, unsettling the nervous horses further and eliciting total silence from everyone assembled. The jousting ground was suddenly cleared as the King of Hyrule made his way into the box, resplendent in a cloak of auburn velvet trimmed with a great pelt of white fur. Everyone bowed or curtsied, Zelda included. For a moment King Harkinian looked at his daughter in surprise before taking his seat beside her.

"I was of the understanding, daughter, that you are supposed to be occupied in your tutelage at this moment."

"Indeed I was sir," Zelda replied with a great deal more confidence than she felt, "but my lady Emteia dismissed me early so that I might be able to watch the tournament."

Harkinian nodded, though his lips thinned in disapproval. He had hoped to keep her hidden inside the castle so that her entrance at the banquet that evening would have been more dramatic. As it was she was not looking too attractive in her rather plain outfit, and certainly she would look a lot more appealing in the very expensive gown he had commissioned for her.

Zelda tried to relax and enjoy the parade, but she didn't feel at all easy with her father's imposing form sat beside her. Something about the king had always unsettled her, in fact when she had been very small just mentioning her father's name would send her clinging to Impa and sobbing in terror. As she had grown older her unease of being around him had receded slightly, but she was unable to behave normally near him.

All the chances that Zelda had had of having a relaxed and enjoyable afternoon were promptly quashed as Dezauras sauntered into the box and took his seat at the king's left hand. The minister's gaze met and held hers for a moment, and once again Zelda felt as though he was summing her up like a lump of roast meat that one was about to consume. Refusing to be perturbed, she turned her attention back to the field where the parade had begun.

oOo

Link wasn't worried about his performance in the sword fights, but the nerves he was feeling about the jousts were interfering with his ability to concentrate. It was only after he had made a few silly mistakes in the fight arena that he was able to clear his head and go on to scoop the prize money for the sword fighting contest. It had pleased him no end to see that Zelda and Impa had snuck out of the royal box and had willingly gotten themselves soaked in order to watch him. After his last match, he realised that he had less than ten minutes to warm Epona up and prepare for his first joust against Derick. Panicking, he powered his way through the mud towards the horse lines and in doing so marched straight past his friends without even seeing them.

"Are you going to ignore me, master swordsman?"

Zelda's comment made him smile and he turned to see her behind him, her hair damp and curling into shiny tendrils in the rain.

"Sorry Your Highness, my mind is on other things."

Always formal towards Zelda in public, Link quickly dropped the act as he realised that no-one was paying any attention to either of them as they scurried through the rain to get to shelter.

"You didn't need to watch me Zel, you're soaked."

"I wasn't going to miss the opportunity to see your legendary skills," she teased. "Anyway, there was an ulterior motive to my being here."

"Ah, so now the truth comes out."

Zelda gave him a friendly shove and then produced from her purse a length of blue silk, stitched with gold with an intricately embroidered Triforce sitting in the middle of the cloth.

"I'd like you to wear this for me, seeing as I couldn't get your attention after the parade."

"What is it?" Link asked, examining the flimsy piece of material.

"It's a token of my favour."

When Link looked at her with a clueless expression she sighed in exasperation.

"I'm supposed to pick a knight and give it to him to symbolise that I support him in the competition. Granted I'm not supposed to do this until I'm an adult, but I don't give a damn about technicalities. I just wanted you to know that I'm behind you one hundred percent."

She planted a kiss on his cheek and smiled.

"Good luck."

She and Impa beat a hasty retreat back to the box, while Link stood looking at the band of silk in his hand with a curious look on his face. He knew all about the favourite system, but he also knew that it was customary for a lady to give it to her intended or her husband, of which he was neither to Zelda.

"Was that the princess?" Malon asked, still wrapped in Kal's horse blanket.

"Yeah," Link replied, still staring at the favour.

Malon followed his gaze and felt as though all of the wind had been knocked out of her when she saw the material.

"You should get going," she said slowly. "Epona's ready to go."

Coming back to earth, Link thanked her and took off through the rain to find Epona. Malon watched him tuck Zelda's favour into his gauntlet and closed her fist around the bright green ribbon she bought for him before letting it flutter to the ground in the mud.

oOo

Kal tried to contain his apprehension as Link trotted Epona up to the arena. The weather had failed to improve and the field on either side was so insanely slippery it was a wonder that no-one's horse had slipped and broken something. Link's face was ashen as he pulled the visor on his helmet down and sat waiting for the flag to drop.

"Kal my man, well done with Phineas earlier. Haven't laughed so much in years."

Lord Murtol, a very well known and well liked member of the king's close circle of companions, clapped Kal on the shoulder and took a place beside him. Returning the greeting, Kal quickly turned his attention back to the start of the joust.

"Is this your new squire I've heard so much about?"

"That's him, the one on the chestnut."

Murtol follow Kal's gaze and nodded in approval.

"Nice horse. One of yours?"

"Nope, his. He's been working with it since it was a filly- damned nice animal but won't let another soul on her back unless it's with him."

"That's useful. And the lad?"

He was interrupted by the dropping of the flag, the roar of the crowd and the thundering of hooves down the field. Link grabbed hold of a fistful of mane and nudged Epona onwards, earning a terrific burst of speed from her. Kal winced.

"Too fast."

Link began to lower his lance, slowly and carefully while raising it to the correct level.

"Idiot boy, I told him not to go too quickly and now he's not going to have his lance ready in time."

"Stupid one then?"

"No, just bloody minded and refuses to do things any other way than his."

Murtol watched with fascination, particularly when Link's slapdash and untidy technique had succeeded in knocking Derick clean out of his saddle. There was an almighty cheer from the crowd, and a squeal of delight from Malon who was a little further along the barrier line.

"Farore, Nayru and Din man, let the boy do things his own way if he gets that kind of result. That's the first time Derick's been unseated all season!"

Kal, for once, was unable to find the words.

oOo

As the jousts wore on, the sun managed to break through the thick blanket of cloud to grace the tournament goers with its presence. Link was making good on his efforts to make himself the talk of the tourney, though not through the way that Kal had perhaps hoped he would. Joust aficionados wasted no time in pointing out this young upstart's non-conformist technique while their wives were intrigued to learn more about the man beneath the armour.

"I hear he's Kal's lover…"

"No, Sharra told me just this minute that he's the illegitimate son of a foreign prince!"

"You don't say!"

"I believe you will find," a smooth voice said from two rows in front of them said, "that he is an orphan raised by the Kokiri with no knowledge of his past or his family."

The two gossips blinked at this unlikely source of information, who had taken it upon herself to contribute while her father had excused himself.

"Surely not, your highness?" one of them breathed in disbelief.

Zelda smiled and said no more, turning her attention back to the spectacle before her where Sir Gillum, her one-time crush, had broken a lance upon Link's shoulder. It made no difference to the outcome- Link was already too far ahead for one lance to matter.

Seeing as her father was absent, Zelda reasoned that she could get away with talking to Link un-chaperoned. She felt uncomfortable with the continued attention she was receiving, particularly from Dezauras who now had an unobstructed view of her since her father had left. Her subtle exit was hindered by every member of the box getting to their feet as she rose, drawing unnecessary attention to herself.

_So much for a smooth getaway._

Impa shot her a look asking whether she wanted to be accompanied, which Zelda replied to with a gentle shake of the head. Her attendant narrowed her eyes slightly, shook her head and then returned her attention to the joust.

Two minutes later, Zelda found herself wishing she had taken Impa up on her offer.

oOo

"I can't believe you're doing so well!"

Link beamed at Malon and gratefully accepted a gourd of water from her once he had shed himself of his helmet.

"Pah, I thought you had more faith in me than that."

"Well of course I do, but you have to admit that you've been pretty darn lucky."

He nodded and sprung out of the saddle, wincing at the clang he made as he landed. He swiftly turned his attention to Epona as she snorted and butted her nose against the small of his back.

"I've got time before I'm next on to give her a drink, haven't I?"

"Think so," Malon replied. "Do you want me to take her? You should be studying the form…"

"Seriously Mal, my head's so full of jousting at the moment I keep seeing lances every time I close my eyes. I'll be fine," he added upon seeing her worried look. "You worry too much sometimes."

"Someone has to be."

Laughing, Link finished loosening Epona's girth and walked off with her following him to search for a trough.

oOo

"Princess, a word if I may?"

Zelda bit her lip to suppress her groan of annoyance and turned to find herself, once again, the object of Dezauras' scrutiny.

"Make if fast Lord Dezauras, I am in a hurry."

She half expected him to offer to walk with her, but thankfully the thought did not seem to occur to him.

"What I have to say will not take long."

_Then say it already,_ Zelda wanted to say. Instead, she nodded.

"You must have noticed the attention that has been paid to you today, highness. Many noblemen have come here to compete just so that they could bear witness to your most exquisite beauty and grace. It cannot have escaped your notice that you are approaching your sixteenth birthday."

"No it has not," Zelda snapped. "I may seem and ignorant and foolish girl to you Dezauras but I can assure you that even I am able to remember what day I was born on."

"Oh no Zelda, you are not and never have been a fool in my eyes, you and I both know that you are more than you pretend to be."

The princess' mouth tightened and she drew herself up to her full height.

"You will remember to whom you are speaking, minister. I will have you show me the respect that I am owed."

Her eyes were cold and harsh upon his face, which stirred Dezauras greatly.

"These men are here to examine a future bride," he persisted. "Some day soon you shall be married and be expected to show subservience to your husband and bear children. Any one of those fools on their horses could leave her tonight with your father's promise for your hand."

"Well thank you for stating the obvious. Tell me, seeing as you know so much more about _my_ life than I, what it is exactly that you are about to suggest?"

"You could marry me," he purred taking a step towards her.

The colour drained from her face as she stared at him in disbelief.

"_What_?"

"You are bewitching, you have captivated me for too long for me to remain silent any longer; I admire you more than any other woman. You are perfect for me in every way, with your beauty and your mind and your body."

She remained speechless, her eyes wide in horror as Dezauras cupped her cheek in his hand.

"Think princess of what it would mean. You would stay here in Hyrule, with your servants and father, and I would be your husband. You could keep your life with no upheaval, no new country to win over. Think of it!"

When she made no reply, Dezauras dipped his head and moved to kiss her. In an instant her hand snaked out and struck him across the cheek with a stinging blow.

"I am, and frankly the idea sickens me."

She struggled to keep her anger from fully escaping, but her face was white with fury.

"I see right through you. You are nothing but a monopolising piece of filth who sees himself on my father's throne with me as a bauble to get you there. Well allow me to tell you this, Lord Dezauras," she spat. "I would sooner die than allow a scheming, revolting man like you to so much as touch me, let alone consider marrying you. You disgust me."

Zelda stormed past him, too angry to speak. Dezauras' face was a mask of disbelief as he held his hand to his stinging cheek.

"If you will not have me, princess," he muttered, "then I will soon make you wish that you did."

oOo

"Leave some for everyone else Epona!"

Epona lifted her muzzle from the trough, snorted and then opened her mouth slightly. As a result, her un-swallowed mouthful of water dribbled out over Link's shoulder.

"Ugh, when the hell did you develop a bitchy streak?"

He patted her neck amiably and then froze as he spotted a much hated figure slink through the crowd back towards the royal box. Zelda had told him all about this Lord Dezauras character who was bringing himself to prominence in the king's circle of advisors. The princess had confessed to him about having a very uneasy feeling around him, which automatically put him out of Link's good graces. If Zelda had a hunch about something, it was always a good feeling to follow it.

And there she was now, with an expression so shocked on her face that Link felt himself grow uneasy.

"Are you OK?"

There was no-one around other than Epona, so Zelda gratefully flung her arms around her friend and fought to stop from shaking.

"You look like you've seen a Poe, what's the matter?"

As Zelda recapped the incident that had just happened, Link's face slowly darkened in anger and as expected, he was less than impressed.

"He asked you to _what!_"

"Dezauras seems to think that marrying him is some sort of a good idea."

Link scowled furiously.

"That guy's a creep. I knew there had to be a reason I didn't like him."

"Link, you see a potential Ganon in the castle cat."

This caused the frown to deepen.

"It's in league with him I tell you, the thing's evil, why else would it hate me?"

"And I suppose shooting it with your slingshot had nothing to do with it."

When he made no response, Zelda sighed and patted Epona carefully.

"What should I do?"

"Tell your father so he can kick that guy out on his backside."

"No, that wouldn't work. Besides, Father seems to think that Dezauras is the best thing since sliced bread. My word against his, and I know which one my father would go with."

"Then tell Impa."

"That goes without saying."

Link scratched behind his ear and furrowed his brow, deep in thought.

"I think it's high time we stopped hiding who we really are Zel, our lives would be so much easier if everyone knew about our connection to the Triforce."

His suggestion was met with a roll of the eyes from his companion.

"How many times must I tell you that we _can't_ do that? It would be suicide."

"I can take care of us, don't you trust me?"

"I trust you with my life," she told him in earnest reassurance. "But can you imagine the problems we'd cause if your average, run of the mill megalomaniac like Ganon knew that he could get his hands on the Triforce just by killing a couple of adolescents? We'd be putting our lives, and those of our loved ones, in serious danger. Just trust me, the truth will come out when the time is right, OK?"

Link sighed dejectedly and shrugged.

"If you say so. I still think-"

Zelda put her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, it's not fair of me to pile all this on you when you've got your own stuff to worry about at the moment. You've been doing so well, you're quite the subject of gossip amongst the painted ladies of court society."

"Really?"

"Seriously. The word is that you're the Crown Prince of Sionna's illegitimate child from an illicit union with my second cousin Princess Illione."

Link blinked at her.

"I'm a what now?"

Zelda laughed.

"Consider it a compliment. People are a lot more willing to accept that one than the other explanation."

"Which is?"

Luckily for Zelda, Impa appeared in time to spare her from 'outing' Link.

"Your father has been spotted making his way back to the box, I think that it'd be better for you to get back before he does. Anyway, Link's supposed to be jousting after the next match."

"I'm what!" Link squawked. "When did that happen? I thought there was at least another one to get through before it was my turn."

"There was, but the last jousters forfeited a moment ago. You're up next."

Epona nipped at Link's neck and nudged him in the small of the back.

"What are you waiting for? Get going!" Zelda urged him.

"Like you need to tell me twice, but who am I up against?"

Impa smiled up at him as she helped tighten his girth.

"Can't you guess? You're up against your boss."

Link almost fell out of his saddle in amazement.

"You mean I'm fighting _Kal_!"

oOo

A.N. Yup, I'm late again, typical eh? I don't really have any excuse other than being hopelessly unmotivated to do anything at the moment. Seriously, you spend all your school life wishing to get out of the place and then when you do your brain turns into goop. Here's hoping that four months in Thailand are going to sort me out.

Read and review please!


	15. The Prize

Disclaimer: No cheque I could write would possibly buy the rights to the Legend of Zelda, so I'm not going to be claiming ownership of the series or its characters until at least the dawn of the apocalypse.

A.N: Again, sorry for the enormous delay on my part. I have been phenomenally busy lately with my travel preparations, work and driving lessons.

Someone voiced their concerns in a review about the angst quota of this story. I'm afraid it will get angstier as this 'book' goes on, it isn't supposed to be happy. The second section of the story is here for a reason and if everyone was happy in it then there would be no vagrant, stubbly bearded Link who you met earlier. It would just be happy, clean shaven Link still living in Hyrule, and there wouldn't be a story.

I also think that perhaps Malon's feelings for Link are the main source of the angst that was being protested against. Before I get accused of Malon bashing, I'd like to say that I have nothing against her, nor do I oppose the idea of her being paired with Link; but my personal preference is the Link-Zelda pairing and not a lot will change that. In OoT, Malon is portrayed as being an idealistic individual who dreams of being swept off her feet by a knight in shining armour, and in this story she sees Link as that knight. However, she and at least two other characters in this particular section of the story are going to have their ideals shattered and it will not be a pleasant experience for any of them.

In conclusion: VII angst aplenty

Vagabond II: The Past

The Prize

Despite the half hour's respite from the bad weather, the clouds once again overpowered the force of the sun and pelted the field with almost torrential rain, putting the scheduling of the tournament behind by ten minutes as everyone took shelter. By the time Link's joust was due to begin, the ground had become even more treacherous.

"For Nayru's sake take it slowly," Kal hissed at his squire. "I know you want to beat me but I think your horse's wellbeing is rather more important."

Link nodded grimly and wished for the hundredth time that day that he had enough Rupees to afford studs for Epona. The atmosphere amongst the spectators was electric.

The competition had reached the last of the quarter finals, with just one more place available for the semis. The odds were firmly in Kal's favour, but the Hylians by nature were lovers of an underdog and as a result many had switched their loyalties to Link, particularly after their original favourites had been knocked out by him earlier. Silently the supporters waited for the flag to drop and for the two competitors to collide in a spectacular contest between master and pupil.

No-one heard the fluttering of the flag as it fell. The roar of the crowd almost drowned out the thunder of the two horses' hooves as Hoarfrost and Epona charged at each other, the one straining at the bit whilst the other punctuated each stride with a snort of excitement.

Recalling every second of his training, Link's form in the first run-down was flawless. With Epona's pace and impulsion perfect, he had ample time to level his lance and strike squarely and perfectly on Kal's breastplate, earning a tumultuous roar of approval from his fans as the wood splintered. Unfortunately for him, Kal had managed to achieve the same feat.

One all, with four more lances to go.

Epona slipped as she and Link set off down the lists for the second time, unhinging her rider just enough to throw his timing for Kal to get the upper hand. Slamming the lance at Link's right shoulder, it cracked with a thunderclap and numbed the boy's shoulder. Shaking his head, Link flexed his fingers around the wood in his hand and bit his lip.

The crowd were screaming themselves hoarse as Link regained his composure and managed to win back a point by applying his slapdash approach, this time crouching low over Epona's neck and forcing his lance up and knocking Kal's helmet.

The scores were level.

Hoarfrost was an uncannily clever horse. He was a big, nasty bastard but his intelligence was undisputable, particularly in a joust. Having spent the better part of the last month practicing with Epona, he knew that the mare hated being bumped into, and had on more than one occasion shied away from him. Kal knew his horse's uncanny knack for reading a situation and as a force of habit let the big grey choose his own path in a joust.

For this reason, Hoarfrost had edged closer to the railing and flattened his ears, fully intending to apply scare tactics. His head went down as Epona drew closer and he flung his shoulder at the railing.

The dividing railing that separated the two horses had been built as a temporary fixture, and as a result it wasn't as strong as it could have been. When the big horse's bulk hit the wood, it shattered upon impact and the gelding careened into the mare. Epona stumbled and tried to right herself, but slipped in the mud. Link was thrown from the saddle as his horse tumbled head over heels and landed with a thud on the ground.

The grounds were eerily silent as the mare lay motionless and the rain began to pour again.

Zelda tasted blood as she bit her lip to keep from crying out, feeling sick as Link slipped and slid through the mud to get to Epona. She squinted through the rain to see what was happening, wishing that the horse would get to her feet or flick her tail or do _something _that suggested she was still alive. Link had torn the breastplate from his body and flung himself on the mare's head, stroking her cheek as officials ran to the scene of the accident.

"Is that horse dead?"

Zelda glanced across at her father, surprised to see the look of worry etched into his face. Darunia had ploughed through the crowd onto the field with a brace of Gorons and was currently talking to an ashen faced Link when Epona's sides started to heave and her legs began to flail wildly. The relief felt by the whole crowd was tangible, particularly when the fallen horse made every effort to get to her feet.

Something wasn't right.

Three times Epona struggled to get up, and each time she was unable to find her feet. Eventually, with Link's reluctant consent, Darunia wrapped his arms around the mare's chest while his companions took hold of her hind legs. Employing their enormous strength, they hefted the terrified horse to her feet and set her gently down. She stood there on three legs in the mud, trembling like a leaf.

"Link, what's wrong with her?"

He hadn't noticed that Malon and Talon had both joined him on the field.

"Her foreleg's gone," he reported grimly to Talon.

Malon gasped and flung her arms around the mare's neck, sobbing into her blonde mane.

"She was lucky," Talon replied, patting the horse's shoulder gently. "I thought fer a secon' there she was a goner. That fall coulda broke her neck."

"But what about her leg?"

"We'll take her home and have a good look. Sorry kid, you were doin' so good too."

"We'll carry her home if need be," Darunia offered. "Poor old horse, that thump would have knocked the wind out of me too. Hard luck, brother."

Malon slowly led the mare out of the paddock to a round of sad applause, flanked by the Gorons and her father as Link walked towards the Royal Box where he presented himself with a bow. He noted that the king had risen to his feet and nodded back at the youth, an act which surprised him greatly.

"It is with much regret Your Majesty that I must withdraw from the competition."

"Poor luck was with you young squire, we found ourselves enjoying your performance throughout the day."

Link bowed respectfully, aware that Zelda's eyes were fixed upon him. As he rose from his bow, he shot her a reassuring smile and made his exit from the area to a thunderous round of applause.

oOo

Kal had lifted the visor of his helmet and was looking at the scene with absolute horror on his face, tinged with unmistakable anger as he glared at the splintered railing. He dismounted Hoarfrost and flung the reins at an official as he went to check on his student.

Link had to remind himself not to fly off the handle at his master as he placed a tentative hand on the boy's shoulder. His shock at Epona's accident had subsided, leaving him with a very frayed temper and itching for a fight. He did not, however, resist the temptation to shrug Kal's hand off.

"Listen lad, I know you're angry about losing but-"

"I am not angry about losing, I'm mad about you almost killing my horse!"

Kal blinked at him in amazement.

"I'm sorry?"

"What the hell were you trying to pull? Your bastard horse sent her flying, she could have broken her neck."

"You knew the risks when you entered this morning," Kal said stonily.

Link's temper was a new experience for the knight, as the boy had always held it in check with him, no matter how much Kal tried to goad him into losing it.

"I knew the risks, but I didn't know that you were dishonourable son of a bitch who would resort to cheap tricks to win," Link hissed. "I'm going back to the ranch."

Kal stared at his protégé in disbelief before finally letting his face slip into a mask of disapproval.

"You can't; your position as my squire means that you stay until _I_ say that you can leave, and you can't until I hear you apologise for speaking to me like that."

"I quit."

The retort took Kal by surprise.

"You quit?"

"That's what I said. Get a new squire who's willing to kiss up to you and shine your ego, I'm done."

With that, he drew himself up to his full height and stalked out of the arena with a desperate urge to see his horse.

As much as Kal wanted to go after him, he found himself unable to do so. Carpenters had already charged onto the field to resurrect the barrier in time for the next joust, and to make it stable enough to prevent any further accidents.

Putting all thoughts of Epona and Link from his mind, Kal went on to trounce his last opponent and win the joust.

oOo

"Where did this come from?"

The 'this' in question was a beautiful new gown laid across the princess' bed, complete with beaded slippers and ornate jewellery that Zelda suspected to be important family heirlooms. Surprised as she was, she couldn't fail to be impressed by the beauty of the garment with its intricate stitching and sumptuous ash-blue fabric.

"I imagine from my father, Impa. It appears I'm being paraded tonight."

The Sheikah lifted the dress from the bed and eyed it critically.

"So it would seem. You will look lovely in it, though."

"I have half a mind not to show up."

"Zelda…"

"I am not going to be some pretty little trinket that my father can barter with for his own ambitions!"

"You're not going to let what Dezauras said affect you so deeply, are you?"

"Why shouldn't I? It seems that he only has to think something these days before my father makes it happen; I couldn't possibly compete with someone with that kind of support. "

"Then perhaps you should start to gather your own supporters. There's more to be found here tonight than potential husbands, a lot of those men are extremely influential."

Zelda took the opportunity to examine her fingernails.

"If I were ugly and an aged spinster then perhaps I could, but I can't escape the fact that almost every man in that room will want to talk to me for one reason and one reason only."

Impa laughed, causing her mistress to frown deeply.

"What's so funny?"

"If you could hear yourself speak Zelda, I've never known you to be so defeatist. You have everything you need to win people over to your side, I suggest you put your best attributes to work to your advantage."

Zelda scowled angrily.

"No one wants to know a woman with a mind of her own. They're dangerous."

"Master Mentes does not seem to think so."

When the Sheikah received no response from her mistress she shook her head.

"I shall leave you to your bath and hope to find you in better spirits when I come back."

Zelda acknowledged her friend's departure and sat down upon the window seat, sighing heavily.

_Link had lost…_

The accident had rattled her more than she cared to admit; seeing Epona careen over and land that way with Link lying in the mud was a sight that kept playing itself out in her mind over and over again, each time more slowly and grotesquely than the last. She knew that they were alright, and she planned on visiting Lon Lon Ranch in the morning to check on the horse, but the incident had suddenly brought something to light to her than she had never imagined.

Link wasn't invincible.

Perhaps it was because she had been living in the past – or future – when she thought about him. He wasn't the divinely appointed hero she had barely known who had risen to destroy the evil that plagued her land, he was Link. He was temperamental, reckless, happy-go-lucky Link, and he was fallible.

Those days when she had been free to make her own choices away from the shackles of propriety had been enlightening for a girl whose whole existence had been led behind the high walls of her father's castle, but that was then, and this was now. Nothing was the same as it had been and as much as it pained her to admit, she was not the same person. She suspected that even if she were to reveal her connection with the Triforce that she would not be believed. Her hopes and aspirations belonged in another world now, one where her fantastic mind was an asset and she no longer held title of the king's pretty but unwanted female child.

And suddenly, Princess Zelda realised that it was time to stop living in the other world and grow up.

oOo

Malon had tried very hard to find something encouraging about the situation. Epona was still hopping lame and Link was wracked with guilt as he sat glumly in the barn at Lon Lon, having applied a poultice and poured the mare a hot bran mash.

"I'm an idiot Mal," he growled. "She tried her heart out for me and look what happened."

"Link it wasn't your fault. It could have happened to anyone. I don't know why the whole thing wasn't called off, the ground was lethal. "

"I knew that and I still went ahead and rode her, didn't I?"

"She'll be alright Link," Talon said as he patted Epona's neck. "She jus' needs some time off and TLC, that's all. I reckon she twisted her leg going down and sprained her fetlock, it's not life threatening."

Epona nudged her desolate owner's shoulder and breathed down the collar of his tunic.

"We'll lend ya another horse 'til she gets sound."

"Thanks Talon, but I'll be OK without."

He turned round and kissed Epona's muzzle.

"You'd never forgive me, would you?"

Talon patted the mare's shoulder and turned to the two teenagers.

"Well, I think it's time fer me to hit the hay and you need to get ready. Have a good time."

Link frowned at Talon's comment, but the rancher was already out of the barn by the time he turned to question him.

"Have a good time where?"

Malon flicked a piece of straw at him.

"The feast you dummy. You know, the one you're supposed to attend as the sword champion and the squire of the joust champion? We'd better get moving if we want to get there in time for dinner."

Link shrugged and turned his attention back to Epona.

"Sorry Mal, I don't feel like I can leave Eps. You go though," he said, seeing her look of disappointment.

"Link, you _have _to go, you're required by etiquette."

"Stuff etiquette, my horse is more important."

Rolling her eyes in exasperation, Malon got to her feet and put her hands on her hips.

"She's just hurt her leg, she isn't going to die!"

"I know but…"

"Anyway, Kal will be hopping mad if you don't show."

"Ah."

Malon glowered at him.

"Why do I get the feeling that isn't a good 'ah'?"

"I kinda told Kal to get stuffed."

"You did _what_!"

"I was mad, OK? I needed to shout at something and he was the first thing that ticked me off."

"Link, you can't yell at your boss."

"I know. That's why I quit."

The girl's eyes flew wide in total and utter disbelief.

"I do not believe you, you're a total idiot! There goes your chance to be a real knight, numbskull."

"Would you get off my case? You're worse than Navi!" Link snapped.

"_Who_?"

Link stopped before he could let the tirade he'd built up get loose. The fairy would never have let him get away with talking to her the way he'd spoken to Malon, she'd also never have let him blow his top at Kal. Suddenly, he felt very childish and very alone.

"Doesn't matter," he muttered.

"Link, you should make an appearance, if anything just to apologise to Kal. He was really worried about Epona, you know. Hoarfrost is such a seasoned destrier he probably tried to spook Epona out without Kal's orders and it all went horribly wrong. Besides, the king will be expecting you. And the princess."

Malon knew Link well enough to understand why he changed his mind after that.

oOo

Dezauras regarded all the fur and finery in the banqueting hall with an air of amusement. Ladies with paraded like a flock of exotically feathered birds, each one trying to outdo the last with her airs, graces and ridiculous hair-styles that seemed to involve more jewels, ribbons and feathers than actual hair. His grey robes, no matter how well made and expensive, seemed grossly inappropriate.

"Ah Lord Dezauras, I was unaware this sort of occasion was your scene."

It was that simpering old fool who had been with the king on the day of his interview. Dezauras managed a thin smile in the old man's direction.

"You must not know me very well, Master Mentes. I practically _live_ for this sort of event."

Sarcasm dripped from his voice like acid, causing Mentes to glance at the younger man from the corner of his eye.

"Don't they amuse you? These stuffed up peacocks parading in their trappings of wealth and nobility, why do they presume to be so much better than the rest of us just because they have bought their way into the king's favour?"

His dark gaze was directed upon a red faced nobleman, who was busy mopping his brow with a large silk handkerchief with one hand while the other clutched a large drumstick that dripped with gravy.

"If they disgust you so, why do you stay?" Mentes asked coldly.

"I have my reasons."

Mentes did not like the way that Dezauras stared at the king while he spoke.

oOo

Malon was privately delighted with her appearance as she followed Link into the castle grounds. Having gone through her savings and her mother's belongings, she had managed to salvage a dress of her mother's and converted the gown into something more appropriate for a royal banquet. The gown itself was the colour of saffron, trimmed with new lace and beads that Malon had painstakingly stitched onto the dress by candlelight once her chores were done. With the dress complete, she had spent the last of her savings on a pair of real dancing slippers that clicked on the cobblestones as she walked behind her date for the evening. In an attempt to mollify Kal, Link had donned the wine-coloured, sleeveless velvet tunic the knight had loaned him and tidied his hair back into a ponytail of sorts, from which wisps of straw coloured hair escaped every now and then only to be swept behind the nearest ear.

"You look very handsome," Malon told him sweetly, putting a hand on his arm.

"I look like an idiot. Look at these sleeves!"

Malon did as she was instructed and announced that really, she didn't mind the sleeves at all. They belonged to the white undershirt Link wore beneath his tunic and were slightly more flamboyant than what the boy was used to.

"They're puffy, Mal."

"You look great, trust me."

Link rolled his eyes and thrust his hands into his pockets –the only good thing about his outfit- and fought the urge to pout.

"If it was green it would be better-"

"Oh don't start, you're sulking like a baby."

"I am not."

Malon was saved from Link's full blown sulk efforts by their arrival at the castle gates. Flashing their invitations, they were let through without any hassle and proceeded to make their way through the moonlit gardens. Small lamps lit the path and flickered at their flames were stirred by the breeze. It was typical, Link thought, that the weather had finally cleared when the tournament was long since finished.

"Look at those women Link, have you ever seen such beautiful clothes?" Malon whispered. "I'll bet just one of those dresses cost enough to keep the ranch going for a whole year!"

Link took in his friend's beaming face with genuine amusement. He had been so caught up in his own thoughts about Epona and how on earth he was going to apologise to Kal that he had forgotten that this would be the first time that Malon had been inside the castle walls. Personally he thought that the over-the-top outfits were a waste of money, but he wasn't about to tell Malon that. Truthfully, he was feeling a little sheepish for behaving like such a self-centred brat and didn't want to say anything that would upset Malon further. He made up his mind to be on his best behaviour from that moment onwards.

As they entered the great hall however, Link's eyes fell upon the one sight he had forgotten that he would be seeing and his resolution to be cheerful was swiftly abandoned.

Dezauras.

Every muscle in Link's body tensed as he watched the minister slink through the crowd like a serpent whilst wishing that he could just take a sword and gut the bastard right there and then in front of everyone. Or let Zelda do it, either way suited him. Malon had started to get twitchy and gratefully accepted a goblet of a rich red liquid when offered to her by a servant. She took a large swig and glanced at Link from the corner of her eye.

"Isn't it wonderful here? I never realised how _big _everything would be."

Her friend smiled at her as he took a sip from his goblet of wine.

"That's why it's the _great _hall Mal, it makes you feel like an ant."

Malon giggled and took another gulp from her goblet, which Link suddenly realised wasn't such a great idea.

"Uh Malon, are you sure you want to drink that so quickly? It's not juice you know…"

"Link."

He straightened immediately at the sound of the gruff voice that came from beyond his shoulder.

"Kal, I was just coming to find you-"

"Save it," the captain said tersely. "I want a word with you."

Link was led off by the knight and Malon became more and more nervous as she noticed many of the other young ladies grouped together, whispering conspiratorially and occasionally laughing without restraint. It made her feel very aware of how alone she was, how she knew no-one else other than Link and Kal, and how very thirsty she was. Downing the rest of the liquor in her goblet, she went in search of another.

oOo

Harkinian was becoming apprehensive as the evening wore on and he was left daughterless. It was almost time for the banqueters to dine and he found her absence embarrassing, particularly as there were many noblemen there that evening with the specific desire to meet the princess, yet here he was, surrounded by prospective husbands but without the unwitting bride.

"Sire, I must congratulate you on so fine a social occasion. I do believe this year's festivities to be the finest yet!"

Lord Everall was making small talk, Harkinian knew it. He was the father of Derick, the King's first choice for a husband for his daughter. The youth was handsome, well-liked and a few years older than the princess, as well as being of fine old Hylian blood. It was a fine match, and one that was not likely to be opposed by the general populace.

"I thank you for your compliments, Everall. I hope you have recovered from your unseating this afternoon, Derick."

The lad's cheeks coloured before he answered that he unharmed, although he could not say the same for his pride.

"Your Majesty, might I trouble you to ask the name of the lad who fell against Kal? I do not recall meeting him."

Before the King could answer, the brass section sounded a fanfare which heralded the eagerly anticipated arrival of the princess. Harkinian turned to observe his daughter and blinked in surprise at the sight which greeted him at the top of the sweeping staircase. If he had been able to remove his attention from his daughter, he would have seen that the majority of his guests were fixated on the same sight.

He had known when commissioning Zelda's dress that the gown would become her, yet he had underestimated just how much that was so. The girl he had sat beside at the joust was undoubtedly a young woman, and it surprised him that this was the first time he had noticed it.

As was accustomed, he received his daughter at the bottom of the stairs and ushered her away from the crowd of people who looked set to swamp her. He was greeted to a look of surprise in her azure eyes as her dainty hand rested upon his arm and she allowed herself to be escorted to the circle of prospective relatives.

"Gentlemen, allow me to present my daughter, Zelda Aurelia."

Zelda curtsied, and as she did so Harkinian allowed himself a brief sigh of relief. Perhaps, if this evening unfolded in the way that he hoped, he would find a match for his surprisingly beautiful daughter before the night was through.

oOo

"Kal, I want to… well, what I mean is I-"

"Want to apologise for your behaviour this afternoon?"

Link could not bring himself to meet the knight's eyes.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, I was just-"

"Worried about Epona, and disappointed and angry that something so stupid as a flimsy barrier and a powerful horse were what cost you the joust this afternoon?"

"Yeah. Again."

"That's the first thing you've got to learn as a knight, kid. No matter what you really think, keep it close to your chest. You've still got a hell of a way to go."

Link looked up with a look of sheer disbelief etched across his face.

"You mean you'll take me back?"

"I must be mad, but yes, I will."

Kal scratched his beard and cast his eyes across the assembled nobility in the hall.

"You're a change from the norm, lad. I'm fed up with the sycophantic twerps that come after me with puppy dog eyes hoping to study under me. They're just trying to make some sort of name for themselves, they don't care about the art of the sword or the ways of war. Real men are hard to come by in this world, you appear to me to have what it takes. That's why I took you on."

Link shifted his weight uncomfortably.

"I don't know if you know this or not, but I don't have any family to speak of in this world," Kal continued. "When I die, there's a large estate in my name that has to go somewhere. People assume every time I take on a new squire that I'll name him my successor, but to tell the truth I can't bear the thought of any of them getting a hold of my land. I had to claw my way up from the very bottom to get it and not one of them has given me any reason to believe they deserve it. You though, you're different. I can tell by the look on your face that you knew nothing about any of this when you agreed to be my squire."

"This is all news to me," Link admitted, slightly apprehensive as to where this conversation was going.

"You have nothing in this world, not even your own name, but you're going places. I told you when all this began that you get nowhere without connections, and you won't get those connections if you don't play by the rules, boy. If you ever, _ever _speak to me again the way that you did this afternoon then I'll tear your balls from your body and feed them to Hoarfrost."

He watched the boy squirm under his steely gaze and laughed at his discomfort.

"Despite how it might seem, I _do_ like you and I'm willing to consider an alternative arrangement between us, seeing as you hate taking orders."

Link, still fearing for the safety of his genitals, was wary.

"What would that be?"

Kal broke into a grin and patted his shoulder.

"I'm thinking about doing some travelling before too long, get out and see the world now that I've got some free time on my hands. What would you say to coming with me?"

Link looked sceptical.

"For how long?"

"Don't know. A year maybe, perhaps longer. See where the road takes me. Interested?"

"Maybe."

"Well if you are, then providing we haven't killed each other then I think that it might be beneficial to both of us if I adopted you."

oOo

Small talk was the bane of Zelda's existence.

Her father had left her to talk to another group of self assured bigots while she was trapped beneath the patronising gaze of Lord Everall and the extremely appreciative attention of Derick. It wasn't that they were unpleasant individuals, it was just Everall had the irritating habit of translating everything that he and his son had just said into 'a way that you would better understand.' She was beginning to come to the end of her tether, considering that when Everall had finished with his translation, she understood it less than the original point.

"Do you know, we have been here since sunset and still we are no closer to discovering anything about the lad who came so close to defeating Kal," Everall commented as he handed his third empty goblet to a member of staff. "It seems that no-one knows anything about him.

"I believe my Lord Everall," Zelda interceded, "that you would find it most difficult to find any news of Link. Very few know him."

"And you do, my lady?" Derick asked.

"For many years now, since a chance encounter almost six years ago."

"Indeed?" Everall's bushy eyebrows quirked upward in surprise.

"I could see to it that you were introduced," she remarked.

Link's presence would make the whole affair more bearable, she thought. That way they could privately laugh at the ridiculous together.

"That would be most welcome, thank you," Derick said politely. "I meant to congratulate him after our joust-"

"Ah, there is Lord Murtol, I must say hello. Do excuse me," Everall said with almost exaggerated enthusiasm before winking at his son and making a quick exit.

Derick laughed nervously at his father's antics and then shook his head.

"I must apologise for my father's behaviour, Princess. He is one of the old fashioned types who believes that a woman is quite incapable of thinking for herself."

Zelda glanced up at him in surprise.

"Oh?"

"Yes. Really, he meant no offence by it. My mother is somewhat exasperated by it, they have been married twenty five years and he still thinks she can't read."

His comment was rewarded by a laugh of genuine amusement from the princess.

"Lord Derick, you have no idea how much of a relief it is to find a person who does not look upon you as a complete fool."

"I had heard rumour that you hid your light under a bushel, princess. Master Mentes in particular cannot stop singing your praises."

"You know of him?"

"He taught my how to read years ago, we've kept a close friendship," Derick explained. "It does not take a genius to realise that he speaks of you in particular when he praises the future of the kingdom."

"Master Mentes is an old flatterer," Zelda retorted, smiling prettily at her companion.

Suddenly her face lit up, and she placed her hand on Derick's arm.

"There's Link, I'll introduce you if you'd like," she said cheerfully.

The boy was wandering aimlessly through the hall, ignoring the accompanying whispers of the female populace as he sought something out from the crowd.

_Are you planning on ignoring me all evening or are you going to come and say hello?_

She smirked as Link's shoulders suddenly squared and he drew himself to attention. He caught her eye and grinned broadly as he made his way over, a gesture not ignored by Derick.

"Good evening princess, you look-"

He had been intending to use some sort of floral compliment, but as he fully took in her appearance his mouth stopped working and he stared.

"I look?" Zelda offered

His eyes met hers, and without any indication of a joke he replied, "Beautiful."

Zelda blushed and smiled shyly before taking it upon herself to make an introduction.

"Link, I don't think you've met Lord Derick properly yet. Lord Derick, Link of the Kokiri."

As always, Link's title was met with a look of surprise.

"The Kokiri?" Derick asked as he shook Link's hand.

"It's a long story," he replied. "Sorry about beating you earlier."

"I'm glad that you did, I don't think I could have come away from a joust with Captain Kal as well as you did. How is your horse by the way?"

"Sprained fetlock," Link reported grimly. "She's pretty shaken."

"But she'll be alright?" Zelda asked, putting a comforting hand on Link's wrist.

"Oh yeah, she'll bounce back," he said lightly, trying to brush off his concern. "Epona's tough that way."

Zelda looked at him sympathetically but said nothing.

"I'm glad, she's a magnificent animal. You're very lucky."

"Thanks, I like her."

If Derick had been trying to get into Link's good-books then he had succeeded.

"Yours is really nice too. Youngster?"

"Only six, complete bastard in the stable but surprisingly nice to ride. It was his first competition today, I was pleased with how he went."

"Really? You did a great job, I couldn't tell. I suppose you could with Epona?"

"You're not telling me that today was _her _first outing are you?"

Zelda was amused at how similar the two were, and that there was no stopping them now they were talking horses. Her estimation of Derick had risen too, considering that Link liked him. She was well aware of the rumours that were flying around about her potential suitors, and she reasoned that if it had to be anyone there were worse people than Derick to be married to.

oOo

The banquet was an amazing affair with more different types of meat than Link had ever laid eyes on. Stuffed to the gills, he had to loosen his belt slightly in order to dance with Malon, although it seemed he was not the only male in the room with the desire to dance with Zelda, as he was unable to ask her throughout the evening. Malon was a brilliant dancer, he realised, and as they whirled around the room to the sound of reed pipes and the lute he found himself and his partner under intense scrutiny.

"Isn't this evening wonderful?" Malon sighed as they took a breather.

"It's been a lot more fun than I thought it would."

"So what did you and Kal talk about?"

Link sighed before ruffling his friend's hair.

"I already told you twice, scatterbrain," he told her fondly. "He's going travelling and he wants me to go with him."

"D'you wanna go?"

Her speech had become slightly sloppy since the evening began, which was causing Link some concern. She seemed to have been drinking quite heavily and he wasn't sure how high her alcohol tolerance was.

"Maybe. There's a lot to think about."

"I don't want you to go, I'd miss you."

At that moment, Lord Derick danced past them with Zelda, who seemed to be having a wonderful time and waved discreetly as she passed. Malon followed Link's gaze and scowled.

"You'll miss the princess."

"Of course I will," he said without a moment's hesitation. "I'll miss you too, though."

"Will she breed?"

The comment caught Link off guard as he heard it through the general hubbub of the room. He recognised the owner of the voice as Lord Everall and was surprised to find that he was locked in conversation with the king. There was a moment's pause on King Harkinian's part before answering.

"I cannot see why she should not, there is no history of infertility in her lines."

Zelda had told Link recently that her father was selling his hunter; the horse had been getting on in years and had served her purpose well, but was still young enough for brood mare purposes. He had met the horse, a big chestnut with a star, and had thought that she was possibly related to Epona.

"She is attractive sire, beautiful beyond compare I might add. There are many who would consider her a perfect match."

"She is too young."

It was with a horrible, cold certainty that Link realised the topic of conversation was not the horse.

"Indeed my lord, but in a few months she turns sixteen. There are many fathers who see their daughters married off in their early teens and these girls go on to become happy, thriving mothers. I would not jeopardise the welfare of the house of Hyrule by throwing my son into bed with her too soon, it would be lunacy."

They were talking about Zelda.

"I will take your proposal into account Everall," Harkinian said smoothly. "However now is not the time to discuss this matter. I will speak with you in private at a later date."

Link took a rapid step backwards and felt himself collide with someone.

"Sorry Link, can't move in this place!"

Derick smiled at him and then bowed at Malon.

"I was wondering whether I might trouble this charming young woman for a dance."

Malon blushed scarlet while Link's face became stony.

"Why?"

Derick looked taken aback and frowned.

"Well, for one thing I believe the princess is wanting to dance with you and secondly, I have been meaning to ask her to dance as soon as you would allow it."

"Yeah well, I don't allow it actually. You can't just have someone because you've got permission from someone else to have them."

"I'm sorry?"

"Just because you're some rich noble doesn't mean you can get everything you want without-"

"Link!"

Zelda stared at him in disbelief.

"I need to talk to you," she said, her voice dangerously soft. "Now."

She strode through the hall purposefully, and Link knew better than to disobey a direct order from her. Glaring at Derick, he followed her through the crowd.

Derick cleared his throat nervously and returned his attention to Malon.

"I'm sorry if my request offended you, my lady."

Mortified, Malon offered him an uneasy smile.

"I don't know what his problem is. I'd love to dance with you, if the offer's still there."

"Of course. This dance is almost through, what would you say to some refreshment and then we'll take the next?"

Refreshment sounded very plausible to Malon, particularly when the thought of Link slinking off alone with the princess was causing her stomach to turn somersaults.

oOo

"Why did you talk to Derick like that, Link?"

Zelda's face was stormy as she confronted him, he could tell even in the dim lantern light.

"Oh so it's just _Derick_ now, is it?"

The princess laughed bitterly.

"I don't believe it, you're jealous!"

"Why would I be jealous, I'm just looking out for you Zel. I heard his creep of a father asking all sorts of questions about you and trying to arrange a time to talk marriage with your father. The only reason he's talking to you is because he thinks you'll marry him."

"I know Link."

He stopped mid-tirade and stared at her.

"You know?"

"Yes."

She crossed the portico to the railing and looked out across the gardens.

"So?"

"So what? I've got to get married someday, I could think of worse husbands than Lord Derick."

Link stared at her in disbelief.

"I can't believe I'm hearing this…"

"On the dawn of my sixteenth birthday I legally come of age, so understandably lots of potential husbands are going to be paying an interest in me."

"But you're fifteen!"

"That's old for some countries," she retorted. "I'm lucky that I wasn't married as soon as I was able to have children. I have to accept that by this time next year I may well be someone's wife."

Link stormed across the portico and spun her around to face him.

"Then run away Zel! You don't have to take this, run away and come back when you're older!"

She smiled sadly.

"It's not that simple Link, I wish it was."

"Sure it is, it's the easiest thing in the world."

An idea was forming in his head, one so brilliant that it amazed even himself.

"Listen, Kal told me this evening that he's going on a trip, and he's going to take me with him. We could be gone for years Zel, why don't you come with us? You could disguise yourself as Sheik, I'll pass you off as my brother it'll be fine! Then your father will realise how much he loves you and won't want to marry you off to anyone for at least another few years once you get back, it's the perfect solution."

"But the marriage would still happen," she reiterated, shrugging off his grasp. "Why prolong the inevitable? I've resigned myself to my fate, it would be a lot easier for me if you'd just let me get on with it."

"So you'll be happy with a sham marriage then?"

"You know I won't but what else can I do?"

"This is insane, Zelda!"

"And I suppose that if I were to follow your idea then that would be sanity would it? I can't drop everything like you can Link."

"You can do whatever you want to do. This is still your life and you _have_ to get a hold of it again because things are happening to you and you just don't seem to care."

"I don't care?"

Zelda's face darkened.

"How can you say that to me? Of course I care, I hate what's about to happen but I have no choice! In case you hadn't realised Link, I have no say in _anything_ that happens to me, I'm not a person I'm someone's possession. I'm useless until I have a son and then I can finally get on with my life."

"What the hell?"

Link's face held an expression of shocked disbelief.

"Where did you get an idea like that? You're so much more than that, you're the heir to the throne, the Sage of Wisdom for Nayru's sake! When the hell did you start thinking like one of them?"

"One of who?"

"Them! They! The people you try so hard to impress even though you shouldn't have to! You're the princess Zel, they should be the ones jumping through hoops for your approval, not the other way round!"

"I don't have a choice Link," she hissed. "Maybe I did before, but that was a different world then. This is the real world, I've got to face up to that and do what's expected of me."

"What, behave like some snivelling wench without a mind of your own? When are you going to start standing up for yourself?"

"Snivelling wench?"

"Yes. Gods, you're being so melodramatic I can't stand it! What happened to you Zelda?"

"What do you mean 'what happened to me?' I grew up Link, and it's about time you did too."

He stared at her in disbelief.

"I can't believe you just said that to me. I'm a damn sight more mature than you're being right now, that's for damn sure."

"Really?" she snapped. "Funny, I don't see it that way."

With that, she spun on her heel and stormed back inside. Still reeling from the conversation, Link debated going after her until Kal appeared in the doorway all but holding Malon upright.

"I relieved Lord Derick of his dance partner," he explained to a surprised looking Link. "I think you'd better take her home Link, she's had more than enough fun this evening."

Malon wrapped her arms around Link's waist and grinned broadly up at him.

"Found you!" She giggled and squeezed tighter. "I lost you, but now you're here!"

Ignoring the nobleman, who looked set to explode, Link turned his attention to his friend.

"Malon, are you alright?"

"I'm fiiiine," she replied airily. "Isn't this a lovely party? Do you like the party, Link?"

She giggled again and snuggled her cheek against his tunic.

"Are you going to dance with me now?"

"Are you drunk?" Link asked in disbelief.

"What an astute deduction," Kal commented dryly. "However did you come up with that?"

Link shot him a withering look as he rearranged Malon's arms to support her weight.

"Come on then Mal, let's go home."

"But I want more juice!"

"I think you've had enough."

"You're no fun."

"No, but you'll be thanking me in the morning, come on."

He offered Kal a nod of farewell and all but carried her out to the courtyard where they had left the cart.

"I don' like it when you schlink off with the princess," Malon murmured, resting her head on Link's shoulder once she was settled next to him on the wagon.

"Alright," he said gently, pacifying her.

"I mean, look at it my way," she continued. "E'ry time I try to do somethin' nice fer you she does somethin' better. She looks prettier tha' me, and she's richer and has nice clothes and fings…"

"Malon, you're very pretty and you looked really pretty this evening," Link replied, half concentrating on driving the cart and half concentrating on his friend. "Don't worry about Zelda, OK?"

He didn't think it was necessary for _both _of them to be worried about the princess. His previous fear that something was wrong with her had been proven to be correct this evening, though he wished to Farore that he had been proved wrong.

Suddenly Malon's eyes welled with tears and she started sobbing on his shoulder. Link stopped the wagon and offered her a hug.

"What's the matter Mally, why are you crying?"

She snuggled up close to him, revelling in the way he stroked her hair and rubbed her back.

"I love you Link," she sobbed.

He smiled at her and kissed her forehead.

"I know you do. Now try and get some sleep, OK?"

"No you don't know!" she persisted. "I really, _really_ love you!"

"Ssh, try and sleep Mal."

In her drunken, emotionally overwrought state, Malon knew that she had just made an utter, utter fool of herself.

oOo

"…Let me tell you sir, I have seen some _exceptionally_ fine things in my life, my good man, but never, never have I seen something as fine as _that_ girl over there."

Dezauras had almost perfected the art of sleeping with his eyes open when the self-obsessed nobleman's comment brought him crashing back down to earth. Following the man's gaze, he found himself staring at Princess Zelda who was in the midst of a discussion with that damned Sheikah woman. Feeling the stirrings of an idea, he turned his attention back to the porcine faced duke who had been talking at him and smiled.

"Am I correct in thinking, Duke Phineas, that you are widowed?"

Surprised at the minister's sudden interest, Phineas looked incredibly confused.

"Yes Lord Desmondo or whatever your name is. I have been for twelve years. Would marry Anthea but can't get her to commit. You do know of my mistress don't you? Anthea of-"

"What I meant to ask," Dezauras interrupted hurriedly, "was whether you are considering marriage in the near future?"

Phineas' eyes, small and black like oily currants, widened at the connotations behind the minister's suggestion.

"D'you mean to _her_? Little Princess Zelda?"

Dezauras nodded, carefully watching the way that the duke's brow shimmered with sweat and how he practically quivered with desire at the thought.

"She _is _about to come of age, my lord duke."

"Yes yes, I know all that, but that Everard's got her for his son, hasn't he?"

"Not yet."

"Still, Harkinian's not about to choose a foreigner over a Hylian is he? She's the only child he's got-"

"Which means she has a considerable dowry," Dezauras purred. "Any man who took her as a bride would be certain to inherit Hyrule upon the king's death."

"Ah-ha."

Dezauras placed his hand on the duke's shoulder and murmured conspiratorially in his ear.

"If you want her, Duke Phineas, then I can make it happen."

oOo

_To be continued…_


	16. The Child Bride of Hyrule

Disclaimer: Legend of Zelda belongs to Lucinda Hi- whoops! Scratch that.

Right. Legend of Zelda belongs to Nintendo. Not Lucinda Hill. Except in her wildest dreams. Sometimes these dreams involve chocolate…

A.N: Almost five months! Still, better late than never… I had large parts of this saved on my laptop, which stayed in the UK and is the only reason why I didn't update while in Thailand. But, I am now reunited with my saved material, and with the advent of uni on Sunday (hooray!) I should manage to get my brain working enough to start writing a little more frequently than I have been over the last year or so. I hope that this chapter makes up for my months of silence and that you don't feel let down with it, although I am aware that things start happening rather quickly towards the end of the chapter.

Vagabond II: The Past

Chapter 16: The Child Bride of Hyrule

Dawn did not herald an improvement in the weather.

Zelda glanced out of her window at the slate grey sky and promptly drew the heavy red curtains back to blot out the ever persisting dreariness. It was gloomy enough within the room without the weather having to throw in its ten rupees.

The dire conditions had prevented many of the foreign dignitaries from returning home after the tournament, and as a result the majority were at the mercy of her father's generous hospitality. Some of these guests Zelda did not mind; they were courteous and almost reverent to her, whilst others were less than pleasant to deal with. She was almost disappointed, however, that the weather conditions had not stranded Derick at the castle as she would not have minded becoming better acquainted with the man who she was convinced would soon become her husband.

Last night she had been on display, Zelda knew that, and she wondered as she made her way down to breakfast whether she was still being evaluated or whether she could go back to being ignored. Privately she hoped it would be the latter, she hadn't liked being the centre of attention at all. What she really wanted to do this morning was fade back into the background so that she could slip away to the ranch to visit Epona. She had not slept well, which decided to put down to being worried about the horse rather than her argument with Link. She simply could not understand why he would not accept her fate, after all it was _her_ fate and she had acknowledged it. It wasn't as if his opinion mattered anyway…

Only it did. More than she cared to admit.

The banqueting hall was filled with people, which momentarily threw the princess off guard. She had hoped by delaying her appearance at breakfast to find a quiet spot to eat in privacy, but this was rendered impossible by full seats around the three tables. Her father was nowhere to be seen, which made her suppress a groan. Without him being there she was forced to play hostess, which meant that she was faced with potential hours of mindless conversation with the guests. Briefly she considered making a run for it, but suddenly there was a commotion as everyone got to their feet and offered a bow or curtsey in her direction, and her plans at escape were thwarted. She returned their greeting with a small curtsey and was conscious of their eyes upon her as she walked to her seat. Like truly well-educated men and women, they remained on their feet until she was seated, and suddenly Zelda found herself wishing she had skipped breakfast.

"Good morning everyone, I trust that you all slept well?"

There was a murmur of assertion which sounded vaguely like 'yes' and Zelda mentally proclaimed her first civil act as hostess a success. They began to talk amongst themselves, which offered the young princess a brief respite until one of the men sitting near her made an attempt at conversation.

"Er, is it not a beautiful morning, Your Highness?"

She could not for the life of her remember his name. He was quite old, on a par with her father in years, with a shining red face, minimal hair and a rather large stomach. In fact it was the stomach that caught her attention before his face, it appeared to be trying to escape from his trousers.

"It is indeed most fair," she replied and almost immediately regretted it.

"Yes, but not as fair as you Princess."

_Well_, she sighed mentally, _you set yourself up for that one._

She managed a weak attempt at a smile that anyone looking hard enough could easily have mistaken for a grimace.

"You are too kind sir," she demurred, hoping that her response would lead to the end of the conversation.

A servant brought porridge to the table and Zelda began to spoon honey into her bowl, although when she glanced up she realised that she still had an audience.

"Was there something troubling you?" she asked, trying her hardest to keep the note of irritation from her voice.

Her tormentor had a look of deep concentration on his face, causing furrows to appear on his brow like those found in a newly ploughed field.

"You are so fair that even the sun looks ugly next to you."

Zelda blinked twice in quick succession, not knowing whether to laugh or just ignore him. She opted for neither approach and simply smiled, hoping that it did not look as fake or forced as she thought it did.

"Again, you are too kind."

And that really should have been the end of it, only he persisted in standing there and gaping at her as though she was a natural- or unnatural- marvel. People were glancing up from their meals now, watching with almost sick fascination as to what was going to happen next. Many looked amused, some of the women were looking at Zelda with an expression akin to pity whilst others just watched. Again irritation crept unbidden into the princess' psyche and she ended up gripping at the arms of her chair to prevent her true feelings from playing themselves out upon her features.

"Really sir, I hardly think I am of enough interest to ignore breakfast over," she said quietly.

_You could tell him to get lost. That would do it._

It alarmed her how much her thoughts were starting to sound so like Link these days.

"Oh I've already finished breakfast. Very nice."

_Then why are you still here!_

"I am pleased it was to your satisfaction. I shall see to it that your compliments are relayed to the kitchen staff."

Half of his breakfast was stuck on his chin, he appeared to have consumed quite a large amount of egg that morning.

"Excellent, excellent. Food's exceptionally good in Hyrule, you Hylians certainly know how to throw a good party."

"I am sure my father will be most pleased to receive your approval in person, sir."

If this was going to continue all morning then she would have to do something drastic. This man was not only incredibly dull but also dull witted to the extent that even a conversation with a rock would have been more intellectually stimulating. Zelda did not like people who talked purely to create noise, in fact she liked them even less than the people who spoke to her with the presumption that she was little more than a pretty face with no brain attached. Dear gods did this man ever stop sweating? He had mopped his face thrice with a large, lacy handkerchief in the space of as many minutes.

Respite appeared quite suddenly with the commotion that accompanied her father's arrival in the banqueting hall. Breathing a barely perceptible sigh of relief, Zelda got to her feet and curtsied. If ever she had been pleased to see her father, now was the time.

"Good morning Your Majesty," she said as he took his seat beside her.

"Good morning daughter." He sat, gesturing to servants to bring wine and food. "I trust this morning finds you well?"

"I am quite fine, thank you father."

"Did you enjoy conversing with Duke Phineas?"

Zelda frowned.

"With whom, my lord?"

"The man with whom you were conversing when I arrived." Unlike his daughter, the king made no effort to hide his irritation. "Your conversation was enjoyable?"

_I found him to be a dullard of no interest whatsoever, and actually wanted to start tearing away layers of flesh away from my own body in order to keep myself amused._

She found herself smiling even less convincingly that she had whilst speaking to Phineas.

"It was entertaining," she replied.

For a moment, the briefest of instances, she thought that a smile might have found its way to her father's face, but when she looked again she put it down to her imagination. His expression was as haughty and grim as always when looking at her, reducing her to the status of nothing more than a small child. Anger at his treatment of her bubbled away inside, but she fought it back the way she always did and sat meekly beside him.

oOo

For one, brief moment when she woke up, Malon felt perfectly and totally at ease. With the blankets pulled up high over her chin, she felt that as long as she stayed just this way, tucked snugly beneath the covers, nothing could touch her.

Then the memories of the previous day caught up with her and her head started hammering like a manic drum. Groaning, she rolled over and pulled the blankets over her head, silently willing herself to go back to sleep so that she could wake up and yesterday would have all been a very bad dream. Epona would be fine, Link would be getting ready to enter the joust and she most certainly would not be lying in bed with her head pounding and a vague but terrible memory of making a total ass out of herself the night before.

She chanced a peek over the top of her blankets and found that everything was far too bright and that just _using_ her eyes made her head hurt more.

_Tea, _a little voice said in her head. _Lots of sweet, hot tea. Now_

Malon opted to obey the voice and on shaky feet padded over to the kettle, where someone had thoughtfully prepared the tea-leaves for her, leaving a thoughtful note in the process.

_Mally honey, you stay asleep as long as you need. Ingo, Link and me have got the chores covered. Want to hear all about the ball when you wake up!_

_Pop._

Malon dropped the letter hurriedly and felt her stomach churn violently.

_Link…_

Snippets of the previous evening played themselves out again and again in her head, pausing on that one cringe-worthy moment that was so much worse than everything else put together.

She groaned and decided to go back to sleep. No, there was no way she was going outside when Link would be out there taking care of Epona and he would either be completely embarrassed by her declaration of love or else he would have shrugged it off as nothing but drunken ramblings. She had no idea which was worse.

"Idiot, idiot, idiot!" she spat, punctuating each word by drumming her head against the bed-head. "Why did you have to go and do that?"

oOo

There was absolutely nothing whatsoever.

Dezauras slammed his book shut with a careless slam and allowed the leather bound volume to tumble to the floor. It had been so easy to go through the records of all the princess' potential suitors and gather incriminating evidence against them. Although he hated having to resort to something so trite and clichéd as blackmail, it had been the quickest and most effective way to level out the playing field and annihilate the competition. One by one they had silently stepped down from the pursuit, until only two viable options remained: Lord Derick and Duke Phineas of Aratea. It should have been easy to get rid of the one obstacle standing in the way of the master-plan's completion, but Derick was proving to be more difficult to shift than a stubborn wine stain.

After days of gathering material for the others, Dezauras had expected something to come to his attention immediately that he could use to get rid of the young Lord's suit, but after tireless searching to find some sort of dirt against the Everall family, he found their history to be squeaky clean. It was ridiculous, surely there was some scandal that they had been a part of or a convenient strain of madness in the family, but their background was as pure as snow. Irritated, the minister raked his fingers through his hair and stretched, feeling the bones in his spine pop back into place after hours of being hunched over a desk.

"This is absurd," he muttered.

There was a tap at the door that did nothing to alleviate the minister's growing feelings of irritation.

"_What?_"

A trembling page tentatively pushed the door to the minister's chambers open with a totally terrified expression on his face.

"Uh, begging your pardon sir but I-"

Dezauras fixed an icy look on the unfortunate lad only to swiftly drop it as he caught sight of the man behind him.

"Leave us."

All too willing to escape, the page fled. Dezauras shook his head derisively.

"Your timing is opportune Schull."

The man was very thin with a perfectly smooth, bald head. He offered the minister a smooth, fetid grin with a mouthful of degenerating teeth.

"Word reached me 'is lordship was researchin' in the night sir, and that 'is efforts hadn't been too encouragin' like. I was 'oping to be of some use to 'is lordship."

"Nothing escapes you Schull, not even those things that have been carefully papered over," Dezauras said smoothly. "I need you to find out as much as you can about the Everall boy Derick. I want to know _everything_ that he has been involved in, even the most trivial details. I want to know what he eats, when he sleeps and who he sees and I want to know all this by tomorrow at dawn."

Schull bowed stiffly.

"I'll see what I can do, but if 'is lordship was to bestow 'pon me the mere amount of an 'undred Rupees as a gesture of 'is good faith then per'aps I'll be able to get the information for 'im a little faster…"

Dezauras' eyes narrowed.

"Perhaps His Majesty would like to hear how Mr Schull's family has been spying upon the court and selling information to Hyrule's neighbours for the last three decades."

Schull blanched and fell to his knees, grovelling.

"Beggin' your pardon sir, please, please don't blame a poor man 'oo's only crime is trying to provide food for 'is growing family-"

"I don't need to hear you contrived, pathetic excuses you miserable worm. I need you to retrieve the required information for me or else I may find my tongue loosened while in the king's presence tomorrow, do you understand me?"

"Yes sir."

"Excellent. Now get out of my sight."

He watched as the spy scuttled out of his office and into the corridors beyond and let out the irritated breath he had been holding. If anyone could find dirt on Derick's spotless reputation it would be Schull.

With that tiresome chore out of the way, Dezauras was finally able to turn his attention to more intriguing matters. He had managed to procure a piece of information a few days ago that had put a particularly interesting idea into his head. Shuffling through the papers on his cluttered desk, he finally located the scroll and began to examine it, just to make sure that he had not been mistaken.

_Portias and Aglaia of Ealan request that our most noble and majestic brother-in-law, His Majesty King Harkinian please receive our eldest daughter Sibella Idyia at court this winter…_

That one name sprung to his attention and caused a small smirk to form on his previously frowning lips, because from more than one source he had heard that Sibella, Queen Thalia's eldest niece, was quite a beauty and bore considerable resemblance to her deceased aunt.

oOo

"For some reason, I'm not feeling like mister popularity at the moment," Link commented glumly.

The rain continued to rattle against the brickwork of the fortress and echoed around the cavernous interior of the Gerudo training ground. For a week straight following the tournament the rain hadn't failed to pour upon the waterlogged Hyrule, which was all well and good for the Zoras but the other inhabitants of the kingdom were less amused. Link in particular was being driven mad from boredom. Kal had instructed him to keep a low profile until he told him otherwise, and with no work to do for the knight and Epona still out of action, the restless youth was beginning to display signs of cabin fever. Respite had arrived in the form of Nabooru, who had required an assistant to help her with setting up some new traps in the training ground. She paused momentarily from checking the workings of a spinning blade and glanced across at her helper.

"Aw, poor baby," she joked. "You tell auntie Nabooru what's wrong."

Glaring at her, Link parked himself on the ground.

"Zelda isn't speaking to me, which I understand because it's just Zelda and she's in a huff, but I think that three days is pushing it."

"Kid, you were openly rude to her potential fiancé. I'm amazed she didn't smack you, I would have."

"It's not like she loves him or anything," Link protested. "Believe me, if she'd been happy about it or was besotted with the guy then I wouldn't have said a word, but-"

"You really don't understand politics, do you?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"It has everything to do with it. The world isn't made up of black and white decisions Link, there are more than a few shades of grey."

Link frowned.

"What is it with you women treating me like I don't have a brain?"

"Because a lot of the time you don't make the best use of it."

"You have an incredible knack of making me feel worse, you know that don't you?"

The Gerudo shrugged.

"Hey, I'm only here to help."

"Your definition of 'help' is a strange one."

"What do you want, my sympathy? You got yourself into this mess, if you want to get out of it and be back in Her Highness' good books then swallow your pride and apologise to her."

Link hated it when logic ambushed him like that.

"So Super Nabooru has solved the problem of your problem with Zelda, so what else do I have to fix for you?"

"Malon. I don't understand her, she's been avoiding me since the joust."

The Gerudo frowned.

"Well, did you say anything that might have upset her? You're good at that, you know."

"No! I didn't say anything to upset her and I behaved like a gentleman all evening. Apart from…"

"Oh boy." Nabooru rolled her eyes and leant back against the wall she was standing against. "What did you do this time?"

"Nothing! I just told that ass Derick off when he asked Malon to dance, and then Zelda told me off and the next thing I know, Malon's drunk and ends up sobbing on my shoulder on the way home."

Nabooru tsked and shook her head.

"Ah, so that's nothing is it? Goddesses you're an idiot."

"How am I an idiot?" Link's face had turned thunderous. "Why was _Malon _upset when I was only do her a favour and rescuing her from some prat who thinks she's a material object?"

"Did it ever occur to you that she might have _wanted _to dance with him?"

Link's mouth fell open just as he had started to argue back but found himself unable to vocalise a point of contention.

"Thought not. And you said she got drunk?"

He nodded sheepishly.

"Well there's the other half of the problem then. She's embarrassed."

Here Link became totally confused and subconsciously scratched his head.

"What's she got to be embarrassed about? Drunk is drunk, it's not like she threw up on me or anything."

He folded his arms and slouched against the wall, a petulant frown on his face.

"Getting drunk's a big deal for a girl, kiddo. You lower your inhibitions and sometimes blurt every secret out by mistake. She didn't say anything strange, did she?"

"Only that she loved me-" He missed Nabooru's shocked expression as he continued. "But that's nothing. You tell me that _you_ love me when you're drunk, isn't that the norm?"

"I'm not even going to answer that one if you can't figure out the answer for yourself. How did you reply though, when she told you?"

"I told her that I knew and she should get some sleep."

_Oi, you're a bigger dolt than I thought, kid,_ Nabooru thought. The look on her face caused Link to frown.

"I messed up, didn't I?"

"Well, look at it this way. How would you react if you told, ooh, Saria, that you loved her and she told you to get some sleep?"

"I'd get some sleep."

"Not _quite _the right example. How'd you feel if you told Zelda that you loved her and she told you to shut up and go to sleep?"

"What are you implying?" Link's face had gone from one extreme of confusion to another. "Why do you assume that I have a thing for Zelda?"

"Me? Did _I _say that?" Nabooru asked, her face the picture of innocence. "I'm speaking hypothetically of course. Would you have preferred it if I'd used Ruto?"

She smirked as he shuddered.

"Didn't think so. If I were you, I'd go talk things out with Malon too. Now, is there anyone else who you offended the other night or are we done?"

"You know Nabooru," Link said dryly, "you have this uncanny ability to make me feel ten years old again."

"What can I say, it's a gift. Besides sweetie, when it comes to matters of the fairer sex you have the emotional sensitivities and intellect of the aforementioned ten-year old."

"Thanks Nabooru."

"That's what I'm here for, now give me a hand with this spinning blade would you?"

oOo

"I hear you're about to get some good news."

The Zora princess offered her Hylian counterpart a big, friendly grin and then sighed with what could easily have been envy.

"Really Ruto, nothing's definite yet. It could all still fall through," Zelda said quietly.

She kept her focus upon the fire, watching as it crackled over the dry wood burning in the grate. Ruto's brow drew into a frown for a fraction of a second, an action that went unnoticed by the other girl.

"You don't sound too excited."

"Would you be?"

"Yes," Ruto sighed. "I'd be beside myself. If only Link would get off his backside and talk to my father, maybe we could have a double wedding!"

Zelda couldn't keep the smirk from her lips, particularly knowing Link's sentiments on the matter. He still hadn't apologised and truthfully she did not expect him to; his obstinacy continued to amaze her after five years of friendship and she wondered, perhaps, if he would ever grow out of it. Knowing Link, probably never. He would obstinately refuse. Still, it would be nice to proven wrong, just this once.

"Lord Derick is so handsome," Ruto continued. "You're lucky that your father approves of such a nice man, especially one who's your age. You could have had someone really old and horrible."

"That's true."

"My goodness, you'll be a real woman by the end of the year! I'll want to know all the details."

Here Zelda's cheeks coloured in embarrassment.

"I'm sure you won't."

"Well, maybe not _all _the details but I will want a full account of how your husband looks naked."

Zelda couldn't help but laugh at her companion's enthusiasm.

"Why would you want to know that?"

"Because I need to base my fantasies on _something._ Honestly, I'm more likely to come across _Darunia_ naked than I am to get my fiancé without any clothes on, and I've never seen a naked Hylian."

Zelda shuddered.

"You've just given me a particularly nasty mental image of Darunia, Ruto."

The Zora's eyes widened before she turned a particularly interesting shade of purple and collapsed into a fit of irrepressible giggles.

"So, has your father made any mention of the rumour becoming official?"

Before Zelda could form an answer in the negative, the pair were interrupted by Impa who was looking extremely grim. Instantly the Hylian princess was on her guard.

"Impa?"

"Your father wants to see you Zelda. Immediately."

oOo

"…So you see Mal, I'm really sorry about the other night. If I said or did anything to offend you then you've got to believe me, I never meant to make you upset."

Malon tried desperately hard to avoid Link's eyes as she carried on mixing the sugar-beet for the horses. Internally she was battling with a fierce emotional struggle where the two conflicting parts of her psyche could not decide on whether his apology was a welcome one or perhaps the most crushing blow to her confidence yet. While it was encouraging that he didn't find her a complete and hopeless idiot in the wake of what she now referred to as 'her nightmare,' the idealistic, romantic minded girl in her was lamenting the fact that his apology for upsetting her had not come with a declaration of his love in response to her own ineloquent, alcohol-fuelled announcement.

"So we're cool, right?"

"Link," she began shakily, disgusted with how feeble her voice sounded. "You haven't said anything about… what I said. Because it wasn't just me being drunk. I… I did mean it, really."

"Ah."

Malon chanced a look in his direction and cringed at the look of total bafflement on his face.

"Forget it," she gabbled. "Just ignore me. Epona's leg seems a lot better-"

"Look Mal, you know that I love you don't you?"

Her face lit up considerably, which momentarily instilled a little panic into her friend.

"Link I-"

"Wait, wait, hear me out first OK?"

All of the previous statement's good work on Malon's expression came hurriedly undone.

"I love you a lot, you're one of my best friends and we've had some great times together."

"Why do I feel there's a 'but' coming here?"

"Because there is?" He shot her an infectious grin and set about clarifying his intentions. "Right, here it comes. I love you, but not in the way I _think_ you want me to love you. I'm only just sixteen Mal, you're fourteen. We've got years ahead of us before we have to start worrying about that sort of thing. Fact is, I'm not ready to feel _that _way about anyone yet."

"Not even the princess?" It had escaped before Malon had even had time to rein it in.

_What is it with everything coming back to Zelda! _Link thought in exasperation.

"Princess Zelda and I… well, you're not going to believe me but there is nothing going on there either. To use that time honoured cliché, we're just very good friends."

_With an inescapable, predestined, divine bond of legendary proportions, while we're on the subject…_

"Really? Because I've been trying to work that out and I can't understand _why_ an orphan with no history who lives in the Kokiri Forest is on 'very good friends' terms with the princess of all Hyrule."

"I can't tell you that."

"Can't or won't?"

"Mal, you have to trust me on this one. I do not have romantic feelings for Princess Zelda and she sure as hell doesn't have any for me. We… we happen to have something in common which neither of us can escape and it's a tie that is going to bind us for as long as we live."

Dozens of scenarios formed in Malon's head and for a moment she stared at him, taking into account his blonde hair and blue eyes. Then it struck her in a wave of brilliance.

"You're her brother, aren't you?"

Link shot that theory out of the window as he burst out laughing in such a manner that even the cows stopped chewing the cud to stare at him.

"No! No way!"

oOo

Dezuaras had to admit, the whole thing couldn't have gone better even if he had manipulated the pieces into play himself. Within minutes of Schull bringing him the information, Lord Everall was announced at the castle gates and had requested an audience with the king at the earliest possible convenience. Judging by the looks on their faces, Dezauras had no need to wonder what the purpose of their visit was.

"Lord Derick partook in a romance wiv the daughter of one of the neighbourin' lords," Schull had told the minister from his place on the floor, "an' quite the looker she is too sir, very beautiful."

"If I wanted a full account of this woman I would have asked you for it. What has this got to interest me?"

"Well, if 'is lordship would do me the courtesy of listenin' to the end of the tale I'll tell 'im."

Dezauras had rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Go on."

"Lady Lowenva is engaged to be married to one of 'er farver's distan' cousins, so the relationship was quite secret and no-one knew 'bout it and it went on for quite a while."

"Does this story have a point to it any time soon?"

"she ain't ever met her future 'usband, but miracle 'pon miracles, Lady Lowenva appears to be _pregnant_ sir."

Here the minister sat up.

"Is she now?"

"Yes sir, and 'er farver showed all the signs of kickin' up one 'ell of a stink if the farver didn't do the right thing by 'er. Young Lord Derick appears to 'ave already taken' matters into 'is own 'ands and eloped wiv the girl."

So now Dezauras stood hidden in the chancellery, watching as King Harkinian presided grim faced over the proceedings before him. Lord Everall, looking furiously embarrassed, was kneeling before the princess explaining the whole situation while Zelda took the whole thing in with an expressionless face. She appeared to be taking it all rather well, a fact which irritated the minister no end.

The cards were all in his hand and he was about to pull out the ace. No one suspected that he had been silently moving through Zelda's potential suitors, wiping them out one by one. Harkinian would be baffled no doubt, particularly after his daughter had caused such shockwaves at the post-tournament ball. The trick was to act quickly before significant foreign royalty found out and tried to win the princess' hand, which Dezauras simply could not allow. She needed to be married, and quickly, to the sort of man who would pose no threat to his plans for Hyrule and hopefully make her life so unbearable that she would forever regret shunning him.

_I see right through you. You are nothing but a monopolising piece of filth who sees himself on my father's throne with me as a bauble to get you there._

_Foolish girl,_ he thought smugly. _Here I thought that you possessed a brain._

Duke Phineas' offer would have been laughed at had it been received amidst all the others, but now all it took was a little support from a friend in the right place and he was at the fore for the princess' hand. All it took was a little whispering in the right ears, reminding the king of Aratea's advantageous position sandwiched between Hyrule and the fertile lands of Telbaun, a kingdom with whom Hyrule held an uncertain political alliance. With Aratea's ruler closely connected to Hylian royalty should he marry the princess, Hyrule would have gained the perfect ally to keep watch on the less than trusted Telbaun army and, if needs be, hold them back should a hostile force be mobilised. Then there was the matter of Duke Phineas' potency. While his late wife had never produced an heir, Phineas' mistress had produced five offspring in the twelve years they had been associated. Unless there was something wrong with the princess, she could be expected to mother a prince as soon as possible should she marry such a man.

Finally, there was the matter that the princess seemed to enjoy the man's company, as Dezauras continued to remind the king. Harkinian had seen his daughter locked in conversation with the man the morning after the tournament and she herself had admitted to enjoying their exchange. The evidence was substantial, and it would be a good match.

Dezauras' good humour increased as the king's attention turned from Lord Everall to Duke Phineas, who had just entered the room none too subtly and was looking flushed. The princess' gaze followed her father's and in that one, brilliant moment of triumph, Dezauras watched as the barest hint of disappointment that had been in her eyes was swallowed by a sudden display of comprehension and horror.

oOo

"Everything is set," Kal told his squire excitedly. "We're all ready to leave."

Link looked stunned. He had received Kal's invitation to join him at a tavern in town earlier that afternoon and was amazed to find the captain in extremely high spirits.

"What?"

"I'm ready to go," he repeated. "And, as I told you the other day, I want you to come with me."

"Yeah but Kal, I thought you meant you'd be going in a month or so, I didn't think you meant in a matter of _days_. What's the rush?"

"No rush. I've been planning this for a while, everything's just slotted into place, that's all. Are you still interested?"

Link took a mouthful of his beer and frowned, staring into the bottom of his tankard.

"I… well, it strikes me as being kind of sudden. I hadn't even discussed it with my family."

"I was under the impression that you didn't have any."

"I don't," Link replied. "Not blood anyway. It's just the Kokiri who raised me, my friends in Hyrule… I haven't really told them yet. Can't we put it off a bit?"

"Not really, no. I can't afford to."

Kal's companion glanced at him with a frown.

"Why?"

The captain looked away, his expression unreadable.

"Because I don't have much longer to make this trip."

Link suddenly felt the icy grasp of shock take a hold of him as he stared across the table at Kal, noticing for the first time that the man looked tired, too tired for one as active and healthy as he appeared to be.

"I don't understand."

"I'm dying Link." The captain's eyes met his suddenly. "I'm dying."

Link felt as though he had just been punched in the stomach by Darunia.

"A while ago I found that even the lightest exercise made me breathless, that I suddenly came over feeling light-headed and faint after a while. Then the pains started, right here." He put his hand to his chest. "My heart's packing in, the doctors and the fortune tellers all say the same thing. My time's running out, and that's why I have to leave soon or else I'll never leave. I don't want to die in Hyrule surrounded by sycophants after all that I dedicated my life to build, I want to go to the places I've always dreamed of seeing. I want to be remembered as I am now, a champion, and not some weak fool crippled by his own deteriorating body."

He looked across at his squired, ashamed of the sentimentality in his words.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you all of that. I didn't want you to know."

_How could you not tell me this? You're too damn stubborn Kal, stubborn and proud._

"Kal…"

"Listen boy, I don't want anybody's sympathy. I don't want you telling anyone."

"Of course not."

"And I don't want you to come along because you feel _sorry _for me, I couldn't stand that. I don't want your pity, I want your companionship."

There was a pause.

"When do we leave?"

"Today."

"_What!_" Link stood up, taken aback. "Today? You don't hang around do you?"

"No, I can't." Kal smiled lamely at him. "Can I count you in?"

"I don't know… I, I'd have to spend the rest of the day saying goodbye to everyone."

"Of course."

"And Epona-"

"Is perfectly sound now, I called in on Talon earlier today and there isn't a hint of lameness. We won't do anything too hard for her, I promise."

"Kal, I'm not comfortable about this. I mean, it's happening so fast…"

"Well if it helps you make up your mind, I've planned to go due west until I meet the sea and then turn right and follow the road to see where it ends up. If you don't feel like setting out today, then follow me when you do. Will you think about it?"

Link nodded.

oOo

"Phineas of Aratea!"

Nabooru stared at Impa, aghast. The Sheikah woman hung her head.

"Harkinian is marrying his daughter to _Phineas of Aratea?_ Is he mad?"

"I don't know what to think anymore. All I know is that two weeks from now Zelda will be married, shipped off to Aratea and that will be that."

"But you'll be going with her won't you?"

"As soon as there's a ring on her finger I'm relieved of my duties."

"But… but she can't!" The Gerudo woman collapsed into the nearest chair. "She can't seriously go through with this, surely?"

"I don't know. She has hardly been herself lately. For all her wisdom she is still very young in this world and the way that this time has shaped out for her she is very insecure in her abilities, and she is very unhappy."

"I would be too," Nabooru snorted. "Shit…"

"Darunia spent all last night trying to talk him out of it," Impa continued. "His Majesty was not to be swayed, the wheels have already been set in motion."

"And you suspect that this Dezauras character is behind the scenes pulling the strings?"

"Am I that transparent?"

"Like glass," Nabooru replied with a smile. "Would you like me to assassinate him?"

"If only it were that simple."

"Well then, we need to pull our secret weapon out don't we."

"Link won't be able to do anything."

Nabooru sighed.

"We he can try can't he? He's the only one of us stubborn enough to butt heads with her when she's like this."

"You're underestimating Zelda's willpower. She's resigned herself to this, even though she knows it'll cause her nothing but pain."

The Gerudo snorted.

"And she's supposed to be the _wise _one…"

"Nabooru…"

"No, I won't ease up on her Impa she's being stupid!"

"It isn't her fault, you know that she has to answer to her father and he has sanctioned the marriage with his blessing. You can't go against the word of the king."

"Then we'll try and persuade him-"

"Be _reasonable _Nabooru, what good would it do?" Impa was pacing back and forth now, frowning heavily. "If you or Darunia protest against it then Dezauras will be able to twist it all around and make it seem like you're opposing the marriage to stir up trouble and that will lead to all sorts of repercussions. My word is useless, after all I'm only a glorified nanny aren't I?"

Her tone was fraught with bitterness.

"We're powerless to stop this from happening, and I can't stand it!"

oOo

"You can't do this!"

Link slammed the door shut behind him and made Zelda jump where she stood, looking at the partially finished white gown that sat on the tailor's mannequin. She turned to look at him, her face pale and unreadable.

He had heard the royal proclamation after leaving the tavern and, after getting over his initial shock, had snuck straight into the castle and located the princess within a matter of moments. Zelda could not remember ever seeing him this angry.

"Please Link…"

"Zelda I'm not going to stand quietly by while you make the biggest, stupidest mistake of your life! You can't marry this guy!"

"I told you Link, I have no other choice in this. I must kowtow to my father's will. That's the way it has always been for one born into royalty."

"Bullshit!"

"Please understand, I don't have any other choice…"

"You do! Derick I could understand, he's a nice guy and you liked him but _Phineas? _The man's old enough to be your father!"

He grabbed her shoulders and squeezed hard.

"You're making the biggest mistake of your life if you do this Zelda. You'll be throwing your life away by marrying this _chump_, why are you giving up so easily?"

She couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes.

"You don't understand-"

"No I don't! I don't understand what has happened to you, you're not the Zelda I remember. She would never have given up like this, she would have fought with every breath in her body by any means necessary. That was the _real_ you and this isn't."

"That was a different time, a different life. I wouldn't have survived if I hadn't gone to those ends," she murmured, eyes downcast. "But this is _now_ Link, and if I want to survive then I have to follow my father's orders."

She chanced a glance at his face and immediately looked away. Link was seething.

"Now I understand princess," he hissed. "I understand perfectly. You're a coward. Since Ganondorf happened you're too damn scared to take matters into your own hands and so you just follow orders like a brainless sheep in the hopes that someone else will take responsibility. When are you going to stop blaming yourself for something that was completely out of your control and start living again?"

"How dare-"

"I dare because no-one else has the balls to tell you the truth. You've been running scared for five years now and it's five years too long, snap out of it for Farore's sake! Stand up for yourself, prove to your father and your people that you have the integrity to be the sort of ruler that Hyrule deserves to have. Don't marry Phineas!"

"It's too late for all that now!"

Zelda's voice cracked, and for the first time Link saw the desperation in her eyes. He had only ever seen that expression there once before.

"It's not too late, it's never too late." His voice had softened. "Stand up to your father."

"I can't do that Link."

"Then run! I told you, run. You can still pull off being Sheik, can't you?"

"Link…"

"You can come with me and Kal."

"You call me a coward," she said quietly, brushing his hands from her shoulders. "How would my running away solve anything? Would that not make me more of a coward, or worse?"

"No! You'll have the courage to stand up to something that everyone knows is wrong. Honestly, people would be happier seeing you marry a mailbox over that fat, self-obsessed slug Phineas."

"I _can't_! There is no way out Link, I have to marry him and I cannot defy the wishes of my father and the kingdom. I'm not you, I can't drop everything and escape, I have responsibilities and obligations that I must fulfil. You know this."

"Your obligation should be to yourself because no-one's going to take care of you if you don't," he retorted.

"My life isn't as easy as that Link, I don't have the freedom of choice. You couldn't possibly understand…"

"Try me."

Zelda's patience snapped.

"Alright then, you don't understand because you are nothing like me. You have no family, no responsibility to anyone but yourself and you don't give a damn about dropping everything and leaving, nor do you care about the pieces that someone else has to pick up after you leave. You and I are about as different as any being could possibly hope to be, that is why you'll never understand why I have to do the things I do."

"Are you calling me selfish?"

"I suppose I am, yes." She was angry, angry and hurt. "You've got as much stability as a leaf; you change from one season to the next."

"What is _that _supposed to mean!"

"It means that I'm jealous!" Her voice was raised to a shrill, angry yell. "It means that I hate you for having the freedom to live the way that _you_ want to, I hate you for answering to no-one but yourself! Every time I look at you I see everything that I'm not and I hate you for having that freedom because it's something that I'll never have."

For one awful moment, Link stood there in the silence with his steely gaze fixed on her.

"Well if you hate me that much," he said slowly. "Then you won't care that I'm leaving. Today."

oOo

The moment Zelda saw her completed wedding dress she saw her future. Everyone who saw the thing agreed it was the most beautiful and magnificent gown they had ever seen, and she supposed to them it was. It was a mass of perfect white silk, shimmering whenever she moved and edged with a brilliant twist of spun gold thread. What impressed most who saw the gown was the multitude of seed pearls that adorned it, sewn into the sleeves, into the girdle and around the collar. They were quickly ignored at the sight of the diamond at the princess' throat. It seemed that all the pearls and the glass beads were there only to draw attention to the magnificent jewel, a wedding gift from her husband.

_That jewel and I are one in the same. Beautiful to look at, valuable to obtain and possess, but at the end of the day what more are we than inanimate objects?_

Those were Zelda's thoughts as the maids of the castle braided strings of pearls into her golden hair, as they rouged her cheeks and plucked her eyebrows, as her lips were painted red and her eyelids were powdered with gold. She was the diamond, polished to go on show, and everyone would stand around to admire her and coo over how beautiful she was. Then she and the diamond would be discarded, occasionally shown in public to promote the good name and fortune of her husband.

Her husband, who at fifty six was forty years older than she. Her husband, who drank and ate until his belly told him that it was full and who was notorious for bedding one of the great courtly beauties of the age. Her husband, who continued to keep his mistress now that her looks were faded as a way to hold onto the reputation of a sad joke of a man with a receding hairline. Bedding her had been his finest hour, and now it was the root of his mockery, but since Zelda was on the scene that would swiftly change. She was no minor noble with a pretty face, she was a princess- the heir to Hyrule's throne- cursed with a pretty face. She was under no illusion that she was about to embark on a marriage of love. Love never even came into the proposal. She was a political pawn to be moved about a chessboard of alliances and convenient friendships.

But because Link left, she didn't care.

She didn't care when she was marched up the aisle towards the altar in the Temple of Time, the altar where Link once placed three mythical stones in front of the door he opened, the temple where he laid eyes on the adult Zelda for the first time. She didn't care as her small, delicate hand was placed into the large, sweating paw of Phineas. She didn't feel the ring slip on her finger, didn't hear herself mumble the false vows she was forced to make.

Because Link left, she didn't care.

oOo

"You look as though you need to get drunk."

Link looked across at Kal and then at the tankard of beer in front of him.

"I'm not really in the mood."

"I know you're not, that's why you should." The former captain drained his tankard and offered his companion a sympathetic smile. "Listen lad, you're never going to get anywhere in this life if you take it too seriously. You've had a face like a thundercloud since we left Hyrule."

"Kal-"

"No let me finish. Truth is boy, I've grown quite fond of you and I don't want to see you brooding on everything until you become a recluse. You're too young to do that. My advice to you is to pull yourself together and live like every day's your last. Now there's a young lady over there who's been eyeing you up like a slab of meat on a platter. I say you go over and introduce yourself."

Much to Link's mortification, he felt his cheeks redden as he spied the pretty girl watching him intently. Her nose was a little long and peppered with too many freckles, but she had beautiful gold hair that had him instantly thinking of Zelda. Yesterday had been her wedding day…

_No, don't you dare,_ he warned himself. _You are not going to think about her tonight._

"You want me to flirt with her?"

"At first. Then I think you should take her to bed and forget about whatever it is that's getting to you."

The embarrassed flush on the boy's face spread to the tips of his ears.

"You think I should _sleep with her?_"

"Yes."

"But I've never-"

"Like using a sword and riding a horse, both of which you're bloody good at," Kal told him bluntly. "Poke it in the right place and ride it through 'til the end."

He smirked as he saw how uncomfortable his companion looked.

"Trust me on this, that girl isn't going to say no to you in a hurry."

_Do it. Take your mind off her. Stop thinking, just go._

Downing the contents of his tankard, he steeled himself to make an introduction. Kal grinned.

"I'll be seeing you in the morning then."

oOo

Zelda reluctantly finished bathing and stood like a statue as the water on her skin turned cold and dripped to the floor. There was a mirror before her, dingy and cracked, and it showed in its surface a terrified girl rather than the strange and foreign looking doll it had displayed less than an hour earlier. She slipped into a robe and dumbly allowed herself to be prepared by maids, staring straight ahead while they combed out her damp hair and applied perfume to the watery strands.

"Did she wash herself properly?"

Zelda heard the whispered comment from one of the more senior maids and cringed.

"Thoroughly ma'am."

"His Grace likes cleanliness above all else in his women. The Duchess should be no exception."

Bile rose suddenly in Zelda's throat and she forced it back down just as quickly. Any moment now she'd have to make the journey to her husband's quarters. The journey to Aratea had been hell in the back of a draughty, rickety old carriage. She had tried to sleep but that had been impossible as she kept being jolted awake on the pot-hole riddled roads or repulsed by the horrible throaty snores of her husband who slept like a bulbous weight opposite her. She had tried to keep her mind occupied by other thoughts, but they kept coming back to one thing.

_He's going to want you tonight._

Phineas had passed out after the wedding, too drunk to do anything with her at the allotted hour. She had fled to the sanctity of her own bedroom for the last time and had hidden herself under the blankets, unable to sleep. Their coach had left before dawn and they had arrived just after sunset.

Aratea Keep was a decrepit, draughty old building built of red brick. It was completely square, with a square turret at each corner except the eastern, where one of the earlier dukes had thought that it would be defensively advantageous to replace the towers with stronger round towers. Whether lack of funds or a change of heart had contributed, the other three towers had not been replaced. It was in this eastern wing that Zelda found her quarters, a dank and dark suite of rooms that housed rapidly deteriorating soft furnishings and tasteless pieces of art. It was about as far removed from the decadence of Hyrule as Ganon's Tower had been.

"My Lady?"

Zelda blinked, her thoughts interrupted by one of her nervous looking new maids.

"Yes?"

"His Grace has summoned you."

Forcing the terror and disgust she felt down into a ball at the pit of her stomach, Zelda made her way to the west wing.

oOo

Her name had been Irasa.

She was eighteen years old, the youngest of six children with aspirations to become a lady's maid someday and live in Castle Town. She found life in the highlands dull and wanted to experience the thrill of living near the castle. The knowledge that Link had been to the castle delighted her, but he had failed to mention his friendship with the princess.

It hadn't seemed to matter.

Irasa was asleep now, sidled up next to him and breathing contentedly. Sleep was evasive for Link that night, as he lay awake in the darkness reliving the last couple of hours. Of course it had been enjoyable, Irasa had been more than responsive despite his initial clumsiness, but he couldn't help but think how different the loss of his virginity might have been had it happened with someone he genuinely cared about. As he had lost himself towards the end, he had closed his eyes and just for a moment he had seen someone else wrapped around him and moaning his name, but then he had opened his eyes and seen Irasa slumped on the mattress with a sated expression and he had been brought back down to earth with a thud.

_Why are you in my head like this, Zelda?_

oOo

Dirty. Cheap and dirty.

Phineas' sleeping body was like a dead weight beside her, a bulbous and hideous form that in the pale light of the moon seemed more repellent than ever. She remembered the way he'd pawed at her body, how glazed and unfocused his bulging eyes were as he stared at the wall, the shimmering sweat on his body that had staled and mingled with the fetid incense that had burnt in the room before, the way that saliva had formed into frothy bubbles at the junction of his lips and burst as he made gross animalistic grunts again and again as he had corrupted her.

She still felt every touch.

Timidly Zelda slipped from the bed, ashamed of her nakedness and aching all over. She was repulsed by the dried blood on her flesh and fled to the partial sanctuary of her rooms. The bathtub stood un-emptied from its earlier use, the water still clean but cold. She didn't care about the temperature as she submerged herself in the water, didn't care that it made her teeth chatter, didn't care that she was shaking. She reached for the sponge and began to scrub at her flesh, unable to bear how rancid she felt. She needed to get rid of that feeling, the horrible feeling of that brute's skin touching hers.

So she scrubbed harder. Harder and harder until her flesh burnt, until parts of it were rubbed raw. It was then that she allowed her outraged and miserable tears to spill forth, and the suppressed hoarse, choked sobs to tear from her throat.

She still felt dirty.

Cheap and dirty.

_To be continued…_


	17. Loneliness

Disclaimer: I cannot say that I own the Legend of Zelda or any of the characters therein because I am a poor student with no means to buy anything except alcohol and Pot Noodle.

AN: See end of chapter.

Vagabond II: The Past

Chapter 17: Loneliness

Some weeks after her wedding to the King of Hyrule, the new queen found herself reflecting on the events of the past two months that had seen her rapid rise of good fortune and dizzying elevation of status. She had scarcely believed her father when he told her that she was due to marry her uncle, her cousin's father. It had stunned her, but with hindsight she realised that she should have seen it coming from the moment that the monarch had stared straight at her during the pre-nuptial banquet and seemed to see no-one else all night. His constant scrutiny had made her feel uncomfortable all night, until one of her cousins had whispered enviously into her ear that she should be flattered, and that if it had been _her _who the king was gawping at then she would have been beside herself with excitement. From then on, it had all happened so quickly. Her father had been involved in heavy conversation with one of the king's minister's throughout most of Zelda's wedding day, and then some days later she had met with the king in private, under strict orders from her mother to act like a genteel, obedient and docile young woman. She had done as ordered, ensnared the king with her blossoming beauty and sweet temperament and within days the court bore witness to their formal betrothal. They were married almost a month to the day following Princess Zelda's marriage to Duke Phineas.

Life in the palace continued to daunt her at every opportunity; whether she had taken yet another wrong turn into a cavernous hallway or if she had been bowed at by people she had known for a lifetime, Sibella just could not get used to life as Queen of Hyrule. Nor could she adjust to knowing that the king, who had for so long been a part of her life as her unsurpassable cousin's near divine father, was now her husband and it was she and not Zelda who was the highest ranking female in the family. She allowed herself a shiver of happiness at the thought, taking delight that finally she was no longer a source of mockery. She was revered and almost as godly as the blessed Thalia her mother had so bitterly resented all those years before.

Aglaia had never truly come to terms with her younger sister's brief but brilliant good fortune, feeding her children poisonous tales about the late queen which on one occasion had led to Sibella's brother obtaining a hiding from Princess Zelda's truly terrifying attendant.

Sibella had never understood quite why her mother had treated her with such contempt until an uncle had explained it to her. Thalia, like Sibella, had been an ugly duckling as a child. Slightly bookish and terribly shy, she had been teased mercilessly by the vain and opinionated Aglaia until very gradually Thalia's puppy fat had started disappearing and, like a butterfly from a chrysalis, the true beauty of the girl had become all too apparent. Willowy as a sapling and as serene as a summer evening, she had eclipsed her older sister's voluptuous good looks and enthralled everyone, including a distant relative who had written immediately to the dowager queen to inform her that he had found a bride for her son.

It was a story Sibella was all too familiar with, until her uncle had casually mentioned that she looked more like her deceased aunt than even Thalia's own daughter. This was news to Sibella, who at the age of thirteen had rummaged through her grandfather's belongings until she had discovered a drawing of the late queen that Euphrosyne had been working on. It had been intended as a gift to congratulate her sister on giving birth, but now it lay half finished and covered in dust in a drunk, a sad reminder of the beautiful Thalia's fate. Unfinished though it was, the resemblance between the woman in the painting and her niece was uncanny.

Sometimes when she caught her husband looking at her, Sibella had to wonder whether it was she that he was seeing or some phantom from his past.

Harkinian appeared to her a strange man, one who seemed more interested in anything other than his young wife. Within weeks of their marriage his interest in her had cooled considerably. The few times he had shared a bed with her he had been attentive, but lacked the passion she had thought he might have had. To him it seemed that the act was more of an obligation than one of genuine want. Sibella could sense no deeper feeling for her at all, which anger her hugely. Why could she not hold her husband's interest? She was beautiful, intelligent and young, not to mention fully prepared to indulge his every fantasy. Court poets praised her beauty daily, she had seen how the young knights' gazes lingered upon her as she passed them by. So why then wasn't her husband affected? Had he really hated her aunt so intensely?

Of course she would never tell her family that she harboured these reservations. In her regular letters home she maintained an air of cheerfulness, telling everyone how doted upon she was and of all the finery she was surrounded by, not to mention all of the humorous anecdotes of courtly life. Her retinue of ladies in waiting were a slight comfort to her, but the majority of them were terrified of her and the rest were so humourless as to be not worth talking to.

One thing continued to prove of interest to her, perhaps even more so now that she had met him, and that was Lord Dezauras. Unlike all the other men in her husband's chancellery, he truly fascinated her and actually spoke to her on equal terms. She thought it might even be appropriate to relate their acquaintance as being friendly…

It did puzzle her, however, that he too would often look at her as though he was searching for someone else.

oOo

"Little boys should keep themselves in their trousers," Kal remarked wryly, glancing at the scarlet face of his companion. "I hope she was worth it, I was quite enjoying Pelonnia."

Link said nothing, pinching the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger to try and alleviate the pounding in his brain. His head felt like it was about to crack open like an egg.

"Well?"

"I can't remember," he muttered. "All I remember is that tankard of whatever the hell you called it and waking up with the mayor screaming bloody murder at me."

He winced at the memory.

"I can't even remember her name, let alone if we did anything."

Kal shook his head, watching his young friend look totally befuddled and more than a little bit peaky.

"We've got to nip this in the bud before it becomes a serious issue, Link. You're too young to use alcohol as a solution to whatever it is you're worried about and don't try to tell me it's nothing," he added as Link made to protest. "You're a smart kid, I don't want to see you ruined by wine and women. Everything in moderation my friend."

"If I remember correctly, it was _you_ who introduced me to women in the first place."

"One woman, I encouraged you once because I thought you needed a little fun. How was I to know that you're what your average woman goes for? You're so damned attractive to them that they swarm around you like bees and you're either too nice, too horny or too drunk to say no. And it's always the blonde ones, I've noticed." He waited a moment to determine how best to approach the next subject. "Have you got a thing for blondes in general or just one in particular? One you can't have."

Link all but exploded, doing nothing to help with his headache.

"I know what you're going to say so you can just shut up right now. There is no deeper meaning behind me sleeping with anyone- blonde, brunette, redhead- whatever! Get off my back, OK?"

Kal looked momentarily taken aback at Link's outburst before patting Hoarfrost's neck.

"Methinks the lad doth protest too much."

"Drop it," Link snarled.

"It was blondes for me too."

Link glanced across at him, biting his lip to stop from asking the question he knew that he shouldn't.

"My brother's wife Keria," Kal explained for him. "Beautiful girl, big amber eyes and hair the colour of corn, not far off yours actually. Believe it or not kid, I used to be quite a looker in my day, could have had any woman I wanted except Keria. I loved my brother too much to do that to him. He was older than me you see, I worshipped him when we were kids, but he had an accident when he was in the army. Lost his right eye. Not many girls paid him any attention after that. Until Keria."

He sighed.

"She was the daughter of the village blacksmith, their family had just moved in and Alden, my brother, was the one who welcomed them. I had just signed up in the army, and I kick myself everyday for doing that. I can't help but think that had I met her first… well. That's ancient history. Alden met her first and that was it. He was a hell of a nice guy, doesn't surprise me that she became fond of him. I met her the day my brother asked for her hand and I wished to the gods that I had met her before, because there was something there, something between us that I have never felt with anyone else. I think she felt the same… but we both loved Alden too much to act on it. They got married, had three boys and- well. They're all dead now."

Link watched silently as Kal took a deep breath, suddenly forgetting his headache.

"I made do with all the similar looking girls I could find, but it never helped. Never took away the ache, I just wished it was _her_ I was waking up with and not any of the pretty strumpets I ended up in bed with. There is _no_ substitute Link, don't look for it. Either take what you want or move on if you can't have it. Don't waste your life chasing after the impossible."

Kal's eyes were upon the boy's face, watching for any impact that his words might have had. Finding none he shrugged.

"Of course it's up to you, but mark my words it's a lonely life otherwise."

oOo

Zelda knew they were talking about her again.

It happened every single time she moved or dared to venture out of her chambers; Phineas' servants would be congregated somewhere, talking loudly amongst themselves and laughing in a manner that she would deem cruel about something when suddenly one of them would catch sight of her and shush them all loudly. There was a time when she would shoot them an enquiring look before carrying on but after so long she had decided that it was best to ignore them. Their laughter would still ring out in her ears after she left anyway, look or no look.

She knew what they were saying about her, she had heard the jokes and the slanderous gossip they threw about. At first it had shocked her, each new lie cutting into her like a shard of glass. The furtive glances, the dirty looks, the scarcely concealed chuckles behind belatedly raised hands- none of it shocked her anymore. A lot of the time they wouldn't even bother to be subtle, which she found all the more offensive. At least she had the benefit of respect in Hyrule; in Aratea she was worth less than mud.

Zelda knew that her discomfort stemmed from an encounter with Phineas' valet Gage. He was an uncharacteristically tall Aratean, heavy set and burly with a crooked nose and badly pockmarked skin. She had barely been there a week when the man had propositioned her in such a way that she didn't know whether to laugh or slap him. In the end she had opted for neither response and had quite coolly asked him whether his master knew that he made it a habit to make indecent advances towards his wife. Gage had glared sourly at her and then stormed off. It was a short time after that the whispers began. She had been surprised at first when she heard her personal servants gossiping about her, but that was before she learnt of the Aratean people's almost legendary distrust of foreigners. They would sooner cut out their own tongues than give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Ah, there you are!"

She froze mid-step as the voice of her husband permeated through the silence of the corridor. Phineas appeared at the top of the stairwell, ruddy cheeked and swaying unsurely on his feet. Even standing a distance away from him Zelda was able to scent the reek of alcohol on his breath. He had been hunting with his cronies all day, and there was every chance that her husband's only victim had been the enormous wineskin he had had strung to his saddle that morning.

"I was just talking about you," Phineas continued, jabbing a porky finger in her direction and lurching violently towards the wall as he lost his balance. "Lots of the fellas down there are saying they wouldn't mind you f'their wife y'know. I told them that they were very much mishtaken. You migh' be pretty but yer as cold as a corpse in the sack aren't you, eh? What would you know? Yer just a shilly little girl with nothin' in yer head but feathers. Ha ha!"

He belched loudly and staggered towards her.

"Now my little wife, don't you have a kiss f'yer husband?"

He stumbled as he caught the toe of his boot on a raised nail on the floorboard and toppled over with a crash. The whole scene would have been laughable, only Zelda knew too well what would happen. If there was one thing that the duke hated, apart from not being provided with his desired amount of food, it was being made to look a fool. His temper was frightening at times, and there was no way that Zelda was going to allow herself to be subjected to that, especially not when he was drunk. Before he could get back up, she had turned on her heel and fled back along the corridor to where she had come from. She closed the door to her room behind her and slipped down to the floor, her back against the wooden barrier and her face in her hands, her body trembling uncontrollably.

If she didn't act soon, this awful place was going to break her.

oOo

Almost a year had passed since he had left his homeland when Link found himself standing in a temple in Holodrum, staring blankly at a casket before him without any idea as to what to do next. For the first time in his life he felt lost, and it was not a feeling that he liked.

"Excuse me?"

He snapped back to reality and turned his attention to the monk with a faint smile.

"Your father's remains," he said with a voice reserved for handling such delicate situations. "Did he specify what he wanted to be done with them?"

Link nodded, looking beyond the old man to the coffin where Kal's body lay.

"He wanted to go home. I'll see to it that he does."

"Of course. My apologies for your loss my son, and my condolences to your mother."

"Captain Kal wasn't married," Link corrected.

"Oh." The holy man looked taken aback. "Then you-"

"I'm his adopted son. He had no family, neither did I."

_And now you don't again._

The monk scuttled away somewhere, leaving Link alone with the body of the man he had come to love.

"You old fool," he said bitterly, resting his hand on the casket. "You had to up and die like that when I was just getting my head around everything. What am I supposed to do now?"

They had been gone from Hyrule for eight months when suddenly Kal had been crippled by chest pains one afternoon. Concerned, Link had urged the older man to take it easy but he had shrugged off the boy's advice in his usual blunt manner.

"Leave me alone kid! I've been expecting this. If it's my time, it's my time. No use in prolonging the inevitable."

Three months later, he was dead.

_No use in prolonging the inevitable._

Kal's words returned to him now, hitting him in a strange way. He knew that the captain had been talking about himself, but now his words held a different meaning for his heir. For almost a year now he had been running from something that he couldn't quite put his finger on, and now it was time to face up to it, whatever it was.

It was time to go home.

oOo

Zelda sat quivering by the window in her bedroom, wrapped tightly in a blanket to blot out the chill she felt, but its use was futile. It couldn't do anything to warm the chill she felt _inside._

It hadn't been her fault. She hadn't said anything because she hadn't been sure, but obviously someone had, therefore confirming her suspicions that her husband was using her servants to spy on her. Little things had put the wariness into her mind, such as finding things in different places to where she had left them, or coming into her room to find scuff marks on the floorboards from where the furniture had been moved. This time though, she knew someone had been watching her laundry and the idea sickened her.

Her cycle had been late, and for a brief, shining moment Zelda had thought she might be pregnant. While the idea of being a mother at sixteen terrified her, she wished to get the whole business out of the way as soon as possible so that she could stop being tormented by the same questions, day in day out. They usually followed a night with Phineas, who after rolling off her would pat her belly and frown.

"I thought you'd be a breeder and still no sign of a little Phineas? You disappoint me wife."

He would grumble on until eventually dozing off with a thunderous snore, leaving Zelda to toss and turn in her own quarters and wonder why it was that she still remained childless when her husband's fertility was so readily apparent.

She hadn't bled yet that month, but just as she was beginning to wonder about going to consult someone more knowledgeable than she on the matter she had woken one morning to find her sheets stained and her hopes dashed. Phineas had called her that night, drunk and apoplectic. He had seized her roughly and flung her to the floor.

"What did you do to him?"

Spit flew from his mouth as he spoke, but his eyes were hard and black upon her confused face.

"What did I do to whom?" she asked, getting over her initial shock.

He had yanked her from the floor by the elbow and slapped her.

"You know who! My son!"

She had tasted blood on her tongue and fought to keep her fear and revulsion from her face.

"I have never met one of your sons," she murmured. "How could I have done anything to one of them?"

Apparently this had been the wrong answer as Phineas jabbed an accusing finger into her stomach, which was already feeling sore. She could not fight the sharp intake of breath that accompanied his action.

"That son! The one that you bled all over the bed this morning!"

"I- it was never a certainty. It seems I was just out of synchrony-"

She wasn't given a chance to explain further as Phineas had slammed her against the door and began fumbling with the front of his breeches.

"You will not do the same to this one."

Zelda shuddered and pulled the blankets tighter still, wincing as she applied pressure to the fresh bruise on her shoulder. It was becoming quite a common occurrence, she thought grimly, but this time had definitely been one of the nastier ones. Every month he would find out that, once again, she wasn't pregnant and he would punish her in his own unique way. Those were the nights that the nightmares would creep in, and she would find herself sitting by this window, wrapped in this blanket, trying desperately to keep them at bay. Those were the nights that she would stare out across the moonlit landscape, not seeing the featureless horizon at all. She would see the grey stone walls of Hyrule Castle instead, shining silver in the moon's reflected glow. Lake Hylia would sparkle as she swam through it, heedless of any restrictions or rules. But, more often then any other image, she saw herself racing across the fields on her little grey mare, desperately chasing Epona as she galloped ahead with Link laughing on her back, daring them to overtake.

_Why didn't I listen to you?_

Her entire body ached as though it had been pummelled by Bongo Bongo again. As she pressed her forehead against the glass, she caught her reflection staring back at her lifelessly and wasn't even shocked by what she saw anymore.

"You're pathetic," she groaned. "Pathetic and weak."

oOo

Harkinian regarded the youth before him curiously, taking in the boy's appearance as he stood before him, unflinching under the intense scrutiny of the monarch and this court. He held the parchment with the words of the boy's introduction inscribed upon it, glancing down again at the thick black letters. Kal's writing was a familiar comfort to him, angular letters executed without flair, plainly stated words preferred over the flamboyant, floral scribblings utilised by other, more sycophantic members of the court.

_'If you're reading this, then I'm dead. Please honour my last wishes, old friend, and see to it that my adopted heir Link is greeted in court with all the courtesy that you would afford if he was my blood son._

_Kal._

_Oh, and I'd watch him if I were you, he'll stir things up for you no end in the best way imaginable.'_

Harkinian could see that; already the ladies of Sibella's household were staring at the newcomer with eyes as large as plates. Sibella herself was watching him intently, her lips quirked up into a curious and demure smile as she took in his appearance. The king himself fought the eye-roll that he so desperately wanted to execute. His wife was a shameless flirt and loved to be the centre of attention, which was why her clique was so full of foppish poets and fawning boys barely out of short trousers proclaiming their love to her as her air-headed ladies in waiting giggled maliciously behind their fluttering fans.

His only thought on the matter was how much Thalia would have hated it.

"Master Link," Harkinian spoke, watching as the young man raised his head and briefly made eye contact. "We are delighted to welcome you to our court."

The lad bent in a bow, somewhat awkwardly to the king's eyes, and then met his eyes again.

"I thank you Your Majesty. I am honoured to be of service to you."

Some women clapped their hands in delight as he spoke, but the king could not help but notice that Link was not grinning as inanely as so many other young men had done in his position in the past. It was an encouraging thought. He rose from his throne and bade the newcomer to stand before him before baffling the court by taking his hand.

"We do hope that you will be entertaining us with your entry in the joust again this year as you so delighted us with your performance last year young man," Harkinian said quietly, speaking only to Link. "We are correct in assuming that you were the man who made such an impact at last year's event?"

Link nodded and earned a smile from the monarch.

"Your foster father's letter informs me that you will 'stir things up for me' in this court. I hope that you will not disappoint me."

And Link, who was slightly amazed by the unexpected mischievous spark in the king's eye, could not fight the smile that crept onto his face even with the internal animosity he felt towards the man.

"I shall try to live up to Your Majesty's expectations."

oOo

Impa was finishing her preparations for the evening meal when her door was knocked upon.

"Dayne," she called, "will you see who's at the door please? But if it's another villager telling me about the well then tell them I'll deal with it later."

The little white haired boy, who had playing marbles with himself, got to his feet hurriedly.

"You promise I can send them away?"

"I promise. I've waited quite long enough for my dinner and I don't want to hear any more about some fabled water shortage."

Dayne scurried over to the door and yanked it open before giving the person who stood on the threshold a very quizzical look. In return, the stranger stared back at him with a look of definite confusion.

"Er…Is Impa in?" he asked slowly.

"Why?"

"Because I'd like to talk to her?" the man replied. "Anyway, who are you?"

"Dayne. Why do you want to see Impa? Is it about the well?"

"Only if Bongo Bongo's been wreaking havoc again."

Dayne looked at him as though he had just sprouted another head.

"Aunt Impa, I think there's a crazy man here to see you!"

Dayne heard his aunt chuckle to herself by the stove.

"Well, well, well, the wanderer returns."

"Do I get to come in or do I stand here all night freezing my backside off?"

Impa had abandoned the stove to come and greet their visitor, who Dayne regarded with a look of mixed suspicion and curiosity.

"We'll be needing another place at the table Dayne," Impa told her nephew. "That is, if you're staying for dinner Link?"

The question was directed at the man Dayne now knew to be called Link, who nodded emphatically.

"I thought I smelt something good, I didn't know you cooked."

"You'd be surprised."

Link watched as the boy scuttled to the cupboard to fetch the crockery.

"Who's the kid?" he asked quietly.

"My nephew. Poor boy lost his mother almost a year ago, he had nowhere else to go except here. He's my half-brother's boy."

"I didn't know you had a half-brother."

"You didn't ask."

Dayne had finished setting the table and was eyeing the stew on the stove hungrily.

"Are we eating now?"

Link laughed.

"Starving little kids now Impa? You're a hard woman."

"I can starve grown men too."

Dayne laughed while shooting the adult a sympathetic look.

"She'll do it too, y'know."

"Kid, I've known your aunt too long to doubt that she would."

This answer was met with a gurgle of laughter from the boy, who grinned in a manner that was about as un-Sheikah as Link could possibly imagine.

"Dayne, this is Link. He's an old friend of mine."

"He doesn't look very old to me," the boy replied.

Link's laughter was at odds with the icy look Impa gave him.

"Less of your cheek, boy."

She ushered them to the table and started to serve out the stew.

"So what have you been doing over the last year that was so important?" she asked her guest.

"This and that," Link replied. "Kal wanted to get out and see the world before he… well, you know."

Impa placed a clay dish of stew before him.

"I did hear. I am sorry it happened so soon, he was truly unique."

"Well that's one word for him I guess."

"And I suppose that you're quite a rich young man now."

"I suppose. Doesn't mean anything though, I'm still Link."

"I wasn't going to suggest otherwise." Placing a bowl in front of Dayne and then herself, Impa sat down at the head of the table. "How are you handling it though?"

"It's weird, you know? I didn't think I'd give a damn when it happened but now that it has… I miss the old bastard."

"That's to be expected, you shouldn't be ashamed of that."

"Who said I'm ashamed? I'm just surprised." He took a spoonful of stew and smiled. "Hey, you really _can _cook!"

"Yeah she's brilliant," Dayne agreed. "She makes the best rock cakes too."

"Your compliments have earned you seconds, boys," Impa replied graciously with a smile.

Link grinned and then turned his attention to the boy opposite him who was shovelling stew into his mouth at an alarming rate.

"So Dayne, how do you like Kakariko?"

Dayne looked taken aback by this sudden interest in him and swallowed hard.

"It's OK. No-one's scared of me here."

"Scared?" Link looked surprised.

"Yeah. No-one liked me that much back home, they said I was weird."

Link suddenly felt a wave of empathy for the boy.

"I know what that's like," he said quietly. "Don't let it bother you kiddo, people who think like that aren't worth the time of day."

"It used to make my mam cry. I hated that."

"I'll bet." Link waited a moment to try and steer the conversation back towards a more cheerful topic. "So Dayne, you got any hobbies?"

"A few."

"You like fishing?"

The boy's face lit up.

"Yeah!"

"He's got a thing for horses too," Impa commented. "Talon's got him helping around the ranch for extra pocket money."

"It's a great place to hang out, you couldn't keep me away from it when I was a kid," Link mentioned. "Hey, Malon's nice isn't she?"

Dayne blushed, causing the others to laugh.

The rest of the meal passed jovially, with much food going to a better place in the pit of Link's stomach. Dayne was only sent up to bed when he started to fall asleep at the table. Impa returned to the table after seeing the boy to his bed with a wooden box under her arm.

"Go ahead, quiz me."

Link looked at her, momentarily surprised.

"Quiz you? About what?"

"You know perfectly well what about. I'm not a fool Link, I know why you're here and it has nothing to do with the pleasure of my company. You want to know about Zelda, it's as plain as the nose on your face."

His eyes met hers suddenly across the table, their expression unreadable.

"Is she… does she seem happy?"

"I've got all her letters in here," she said, putting the box in front of him. "Judge for yourself."

Link looked at the box warily, reluctant to invade on the privacy of the two women's relationship.

"She asks about you in all of them," Impa said. "I'm sure she would like for you to read them."

The Sheikah began to play with a crust of bread left on her plate, rolling the soft white dough into a ball between her thumb and index finger.

"She never goes into detail, but that just makes me think that she's hiding something from me. That isn't like her."

Link removed the lid of the box and glanced at the handful of papers within.

"She doesn't write very often…"

"Not recently. I used to get two, maybe three a month to begin with. Over time they became less frequent."

She watched as Link took the top letter, her most recently received correspondence. It had arrived two days ago, delivered by a bored looking Aratean youth on a mule.

"May I…?"

"Of course."

Although new, the words were more or less etched onto her memory.

'_Dearest Impa,_

_An unforgivable amount of time has passed since my last letter- I am truly a hopeless correspondent and I do hope you forgive me. I trust this letter finds you well, and that your nephew continues to thrive under your care as I did. I am unchanged, it is the same as always. I cannot complain.' _

Link glanced upwards.

"Same as always?"

The memory of Zelda's first letter sprung to Impa's mind, it had taken her hours to get over it. A distraught Zelda had written detailing the indignities she had suffered during her first night in her husband's home and it had moved the normally unflappable Sheikah to tears. The maternal part of her longed to rush to Aratea and take her former charge home, to shelter her from the horrors that she had been forced to endure and she had longed, more than anything else, to cut off certain parts of the duke's anatomy to ensure that such a thing never happened again. Over the course of her following letters, Zelda reported in gradually more detached tones that nothing had changed when it came to her nocturnal relations with her husband; they were still as humiliating and terrible for the girl as they had been the first time. It was to this quality of Zelda's life that 'same as always' alluded to and Impa believed, quite rightly, that these sentiments should remain private between them.

"She finds it dull," she explained.

'_My husband has decided that he will be entering the tourney again this year in the hopes that he will succeed in defeating Captain Kal. I cannot be bothered to shatter his aspirations. If Kal does not beat him then I imagine that Link will. I do not suppose that he has returned yet? As always, if he has returned, please tell him that I bear him no ill will, and that I wish to make amends for what I said before he left. Send him my regards should he reappear. I am missing both you and he more than I should like to admit.'_

As he read these words, Link felt a pang of guilt knot itself in his chest. He regretted the heated words he had flung at her before his departure and he found himself missing her all the more now that he had firm evidence that she was not faring well.

'_I must admit that I find myself eagerly awaiting the contest, even if it means that I must demur to Phineas at every given opportunity. Sometimes I feel as though I am little more than a performing dog for his amusement…'_

Link didn't want to read any more and laid the thin sheet of paper on the table.

"That," he began thoughtfully, "is not a happy Zelda."

Impa shook her head.

"And we are unable to do anything about it."

"You might think that-"

"No Link, we _cannot _interfere." The Sheikah's tone was stern. "As much as we care about her it's not for us to step in and go against the king's will. He's a powerful man, in spite of what you may think."

"I can't sit back and see her miserable Impa. I gave too much time and blood for her to stand by and just watch her be crushed by some jumped up pig."

"You are forgetting Link that I raised this girl from the cradle to the altar," Impa snapped. "I love her like my own and it as fair as breaks my heart to know that she suffers, but it will hurt her all the more to know that we suffer for _her. _Please, think of her-"

"I _am!_"

Link's balled fists hammered on the table with a violent thud, upsetting the crockery that sat there.

"Don't you see Impa? Since this whole mess started I haven't been able to do anything else."

oOo

The matter remained on his mind for the rest of the evening.

He had never been fond of sleepless nights, but now it seemed that Link could not escape them as he lay in his bed in the Kokiri Forest. Nothing was right, his bed felt too small, the blankets were too thick and too scratchy and even the sounds of the forest, once so soothing and familiar, seemed loud and intrusive.

Why? Why was he still so restless now that he was home?

Saria was curled up in a small ball on the floor, wrapped up in her blankets and dreaming contentedly with an expression of absolute calm on her face. Link smiled; she must have snuck in while he was dozing. She had been ecstatic to see him and had actually knocked him to the floor in her enthusiasm to hug him.

He slipped quietly out of bed and stooped to pick up the sleeping Kokiri, who murmured in protest. Very gently, he placed her on his bed and tucked her in, smoothing back her hair where it fell in disarray.

At least someone was sleeping tonight.

Abandoning the idea of sleep for the time being, Link donned his tunic and crept out into the night where he was greeted with a whinny from Epona and indifference from Hoarfrost. Kal's horse made no pretence of liking him, but as there was nowhere else for him to go, the big gelding put up with his new master by allowing him to grace his presence. No matter how hard Link tried to placate him, Hoarfrost refused any act of kindness and seemed to be sulking. Epona disliked him intensely and made no effort to disguise it.

"Hi sweetheart," Link murmured as the mare pushed her muzzle against his stomach. "Feel like going for a run? How 'bout a swim, would you like that too?"

She snorted and stood patiently as he mounted. There was not need for a saddle and they moved off swiftly through the night, the only souls to grace the silver lit landscape.

It was strange how everything seemed to forget itself in the face of Epona. Nothing in the world could surpass the feeling of running free on his beautiful creature, feeling her powerful muscles responding instantly to his every touch and knowing that she would give him her all in a heartbeat. He crouched low over her withers, clicking his tongue to urge her to run and she ran, freer than a bird in flight. Her ears flicked delightedly as she ate the distance, each hoof-beat punctuated by a short, sharp snort as she expelled bursts of air from her nostrils that turned to steam in the cool moonlight. Now Link felt at ease, there was nothing but him and Epona. There was no dead Kal, no Dezauras and certainly no Zelda languishing in Aratea with a crushed spirit at the mercy of…

"Damn."

He could see her now, face pale in the moonlight, stripped of any jewellery or silken robes, totally nude beneath the bulbous, bloated form of her husband. Her eyes would be sad, looking into space for anything to take her away. Would there be tears? No, Zelda was too strong to let anyone see her cry. Hell, he'd never seen her tear up in all the years that he'd known her, even in the face of Ganondorf. Scratch that, she was too damned _proud _to ever let him know she was upset. Maybe it was because she knew that he would drop everything to help her, that he'd sooner go against a legion of the biggest, baddest monsters their mutual enemy could call up than see one tear fall from her eyes.

And then that feeling he had been experiencing for such a long time now crept to the edge of his psyche, nudging at it in such a way that he couldn't escape it. For many months now he'd been worried about it, the way he kept worrying about Zelda and how she dominated his thoughts so often that he was beginning to consider that his feelings for her had hit the floor running and were escalating at an alarming rate towards something different, something that, as her friend, he should not have been feeling.

"No," he told himself. "Just because you're back here doesn't mean that you need to start analysing. For Farore's sake pull yourself together."

Epona's ears flicked back and forth, leaving Link to wonder who he was having the argument with. He didn't need to argue with himself quite so vehemently, that just brought up a whole load of questions about his mental stability.

"Kal would have a field day over this," he told Epona. "I'm losing my marbles, baby."

oOo

_This is not a world I want to be part of anymore._

They were talking loudly and hurriedly, every single person shovelling more and more food down their throats until the juices of the roasted boar dribbled down their greasy chins and stained the high collars of their shirts. Belches were exchanged, accompanied by hearty guffaws that resounded around the hall. And there at the head of the table, presiding over the affair with all of the self-importance and loathsome bravado that she hated him for, was Phineas.

Zelda kept her eyes low, pushing the remnants of her meal around her pewter plate with her spoon. If she made eye-contact then once again she would become the object of ridicule. It was almost formulaic, she would say something or unwittingly draw attention to herself and then Phineas or one of his cronies would come up with some sort of comment about her that would never fail to set everyone off in a fit of laughter. Zelda had lost count of the number of times she had been referred to as stupid, ridiculous, hilarious, whimsical.

The Aratean women at her end of the table were a sour, scowling group kept ignorant by their men and repugnant in their cattiness. Almost all of them were heavyset and older than her by decades and could not find anything better to do with their time than scowl at her, shovel more food into their mouths and then glower a little more for good measure.

_Just a few more days Zelda, _she told herself, _two more weeks and you'll be back in Hyrule to see everyone, even if it is for a short time. Keep it together._

"Wife!"

She came back from her thoughts with a start as she realised that the whole table were staring at her intently. Zelda failed to acknowledge any of the others as she met her husband's eyes.

"My lord," she demurred, trying to keep the contempt from her voice.

"Any sign yet?"

"Of what?" Zelda snapped.

There were titters of laughter from the men gathered while their women shot each other smug looks that made Zelda want to hit them. Phineas made a great show of rolling his eyes and looking exasperated.

"My wife is endearingly absent minded," Phineas told his companions who guffawed heartily in response. "I am of course talking, wife, of our son."

_You bastard._

Zelda's face slipped into its well used mask of impassivity as she formed her reply.

"Alas, none yet. He will make his appearance when he is ready."

It was useless, she realised, to try and defend herself. The women were already looking at her and the atmosphere became thick with their satisfaction that she was apparently failing dismally at the one task she had been brought to Aratea to carry out. _Let them smirk, _she thought. _I'm not going to turn out as bitter and twisted as them if I have anything to do with it. It's not as though this is anything new to them, every month Phineas asks them the same question and every time my answer is the same variation on the theme. You'd think that the novelty would have worn off by now._

She watched them as they shovelled more food into their mouths and allowed herself a resigned sigh.

_Two more weeks._

oOo

Malon had been skipping out the stable of one of the brood mares when she heard her dog Ada barking. The tricolour collie had been a gift from her father for her fifteenth birthday and had proved to be a valuable asset as she not only helped with rounding up the animals but would also bark her head off every time someone she didn't know came to call.

Wiping her hands on a rag, she made her way out into the afternoon sunlight and was immediately greeted by Ada, who jumped on her mistress with all the puppyish enthusiasm that she retained. She fondled the dog's ears and then squealed in excitement at the sight of her visitor.

"Link!"

Grinning, the young man dismounted and scooped the girl into his arms for a bear hug.

"Hey Mally, how's tricks?"

Malon hugged him tightly, trembling with her excitement and feeling her eyes well up with ecstatic tears as Ada watched the pair curiously, her head cocked to one side.

"Oh, it's so good to see you," she cried. "It's been so long!"

"Too long," he agreed. "Wait a mo, let me get a good look at you."

He stepped back and gave her a quick once over.

"You must have grown at least two inches since I last saw you."

"Two and a half," she corrected. "And what about you? You're a giant!"

"Thank you," he grinned, giving her a flamboyant twirl. "I've been eating my greens."

"I can't believe you're here. I've missed you," she added shyly.

"The feeling is mutual." He scooped her up in another hug.

This time, Ada grew uneasy with this stranger consistently manhandling her mistress and growled. Link drew back and knelt down in front of her.

"Who's this?"

He offered his palms to the dog, allowing her to smell him.

"My bodyguard," Malon replied with a smirk. "Ada."

Link smiled and patted her head when he was satisfied that he had attained her trust.

"So when did you get back?" Malon asked.

"Last night. I would have come to see you sooner, but I was exhausted after the ride."

"Did you have a good time? You and Captain Kal didn't argue the _whole _time did you?"

Link's smile faded slightly.

"Um, I've got some bad news Mal. Is your Dad about?"

"He's gone to see a new supplier about some hay. Why?"

"Well it's just that I know how much Kal liked him and I wanted to break the news to him in person."

"What news?" Malon couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Kal… Kal died. A month ago."

Malon's hands flew to her mouth in shock.

"No! How?"

"He wasn't a very well man Mal, he told me before we left. That was the whole point of our trip, he wanted to see the world before his time came. He got sicker as we went on and it peaked when we were in Holodrum."

"I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry…"

"Forget it," he said nonchalantly. "I'm fine."

Malon shot him a look that suggested she thought differently but thought better than to say anything.

"So what about his house and his things?"

"Well, they're all mine now. Kal adopted me a few months ago. I had to spend a few days getting things in order at his estate before I could come back here."

"So will you move there?"

"Maybe. I don't know." Link sighed and took in the sight of the ranch, noting that the flock of Cuccos clucking near the gates were getting a little too close for comfort. "This part of Hyrule has always been home to me, I can't see myself living there, at least not yet. It's too big for one person anyway, I couldn't live there on my own."

_Live there with me!_

Malon furiously berated her evil little mental voice for making such an exclamation, but realised that she couldn't help it as she watched him feeding a quarter of an apple Epona. Those months away had done something to him, and it wasn't just the added altitude and the filling out of his form. He seemed more reserved, more serious, and it seemed to suit him. His face had lost the last traces of childhood softness, leaving masculine lines that were most pleasing to the feminine eye.

_He's bloody gorgeous,_ the treacherous inner voice swooned, and Malon had to agree with it.

Suddenly he turned, caught her staring at her and laughed as she blushed and looked away guiltily.

"Mal, it's not a crime to look at me!" he chuckled. "Hell, if you want you can stare all day if you feel like killing time. I've been getting a lot of that lately."

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, cheeks scarlet. "It's just, well, you look so, um, well, handsome, I suppose."

Link smiled at her and shrugged.

"I didn't change bodies Mally, I'm still the same Link. But you, by the way, are beautiful. I bet you're leaving a trail of broken hearts everywhere you go."

This did nothing to help her blush.

"Look, I need somewhere to practice for the joust and I was hoping that-"

"Say no more, it's not a problem. Are you sure you're ready for it again?"

"More than ready," Link replied, thinking back to Zelda's letter.

_My husband has decided that he will be entering the tourney again this year…_

Link had every intention of knocking the stuffing out of him.

oOo

Dezauras did not like it when newcomers became a hot topic of conversation at court.

It had been days, and still the visit of the youth proclaiming himself the adopted son of the late Captain Kal was continuing to cause ripples in the gossip pond. Perhaps if he had made his visit a little less memorable and not interrupted lunch requesting an audience with the king in full view of the court then his appearance might have made less of an impact. As it was, the sudden arrival of the tall, blonde haired young man dressed in green had caused a stir and it was all that the women could talk about. And it didn't help that instead of hanging around court like a parasite he was as elusive as they came.

He had the uncomfortable feeling of knowing that he had come across this boy before somewhere but he could not place where. The women gossiped about him continuously, and even the queen seemed taken with Harkinian's mysterious guest. She joked coquettishly amongst the more handsome courtiers that they were in the face of some stiff competition. This attitude angered the minister hugely, as Sibella was in no position to make flirtatious comments. People had started talking, and it was getting harder to ignore these whispers.

The king had been married to the queen for almost a year now, and the main reason for the marriage had still not appeared. It had only taken Thalia two months to achieve what was required of her, why wasn't her niece fulfilling the same duty?

Why was there still no prince to grace the house of Hyrule?

People spoke of a curse. The princess Zelda, married longer than her cousin, gave no indication of being pregnant, and the people certainly did not want a childless queen to succeed a king with no siblings. Some were even suggesting new brides for the king, widows with a reputation for bearing sons. Sibella could be remarried or sent to a convent. Neither of these options were suggestions that Dezauras approved of.

Superstition was a curse Dezauras cared nothing for. People were fools whom he did not suffer gladly, those at court even less that the common-folk. He was well aware that some of his peers were contemptuous of him but he knew that they were in the minority. Besides, he had the full support of the king and queen. His position was perfectly secure. No one could challenge him.

Except _her._

He was not happy that Phineas was entering the tournament. He was less than happy that the duke insisted on bringing his wife with him. They would be staying in the castle, right on top of him. If Zelda was there, he would have to be doubly cautious. Woman though she was, she held more sway in court than even her father realised.

Dezauras thought again of the guest, that strange youth who had appeared afraid of no man, not even the king. Someone like that could be dangerous if he were ever to be in a position of good favour. It was driving him mad that he couldn't place where he had seen him before!

"You appear a million miles away my lord," Sibella said smoothly. "I hope nothing is troubling my favourite minister."

They were quite unheard over the general din of the hall, which eased Dezauras' discomfort slightly.

"You should not flirt so with the court, Highness," he said quietly. "It does not sit so well with some members."

"Does that include you, sir?" she asked softly.

"Your husband would not like you to be an embarrassment to him."

"Husband," Sibella said, unable to keep the bitterness from her voice. "My _husband_ seems bored of me. I have not been to him in over a month. I had thought that maybe some two bit strumpet had been flapping her skirts at him but it would appear not. He has grown tired of women."

Dezauras fixed her with a look of severity.

"You mean you have not visited his bed in a _month_?"

"A blessing in disguise I assure you," she whispered conspiratorially.

"It most certainly is _not_!" Dezauras hissed. "You are skating on thin ice, you must keep his attention."

"Do you think I haven't tried?" Sibella snapped back. "His interest in me has never been more than lukewarm, and I have tried _every _trick in the book to get his attention. I can't see why he married me in the first place if he finds me _so _uninteresting."

"Then you must try harder."

"And how do you propose I do that? Start wearing his old wife's clothes!"

"If it will keep him interested then yes. You're going to have to win him over Sibella."

"So I can bear a royal son, I know."

"So _you _can keep your cushy life as queen. People are getting impatient with waiting and want to see you replaced. If you lose the king's favour then you lose _everything_ and you had better start looking forward to life in a convent."

Sibella looked aghast at this announcement.

"Is that what the wags are saying?" she asked coolly.

"I would not lie to you."

Her lips pursed into a thin line.

"Then I will do as you advise," she replied docilely. "I must win my husband back."

_Or_, she added to herself, _I will find someone else for my son's father._

oOo

"Hah!"

Malon almost winced as Link's lance almost punctured a hole in the jousting dummy. He yanked the pole back savagely and got Hoarfrost to turn on the spot before speeding towards the dummy again. The gelding's coat was almost grey with sweat

"Link, I think that you've killed the sack now," Malon offered nervously.

He pulled up, looking puzzled.

"Hunh?"

"You looked a million miles away," Malon mused. "Is winning the joust really so important to you?"

"I have to do it for Kal."

"Link…"

The young man dismounted and began un-tacking his horse.

"Man this guy's hard work, not got a clue why Kal was so fond of him." Epona looked at him from beside Malon and he could swear that he saw the mare glare at him. "Oh don't look at me that way Epona, you're my number one girl."

Malon laughed.

"Gosh, there's a reassuring statement for the women of Hyrule. So what happens if and when you get married? Is your wife going to play second fiddle to Epona?"

Link propped the saddle on the gate and swiped the sweaty tendrils of his hair away from his face, grinning innocently.

"Naturally, Epona's my first lady. Ever since I looked into those big brown eyes I was hooked and she was too-"

"Link, she ran away from you."

"That was before she got to know me."

Malon rolled her eyes.

"Are you going to wash Hoarfrost down or are you going to leave him standing there all afternoon?"

"Of course I am, hold your horses… er, no pun intended."

"Good, because that was awful." She handed him a bucket of water and began rubbing the horse down with a spare rag. "So what will you do with your winnings?"

"Dunno," Link shrugged. "But with this bastard barging everyone out of the way I shouldn't have any problems."

"Why aren't you using Epona?"

"I'm not letting her get hurt," he replied staunchly. "I can't go through that again."

"I'm sure she'll be OK, there isn't any sign of rain and the ground is perfect at the castle."

"I don't care if the ground's a feather bed, I'm still not taking her."

For a moment, Malon caught a glimpse of the intensity in Link's eyes and felt a jolt down her spine. There it was again, that same look that she had noticed a few times before and it continued to rattle her. Sometimes, when his guard was down or he was brooding, she could see something desperate in him that hadn't been there before, something that try as she might she could not place. Every time she had tried to get him to open up tell her about whatever was troubling him, he would shrug it off and rapidly change the subject. Contrary to what he had told her when they had met again, he was not the same Link that he had been when he had left.

And try as she might, she could not work out why.

oOo

"He certainly isn't well enough to joust."

A bolt of ice had shot up Zelda's spine when she heard those words.

"_What?_"

The physician stared at the previously silent girl who had been sitting like a doll in her seat outside her husband's quarters. What slight colour had been on the girl's face had drained upon hearing his words and she had stared at him aghast. The duchess got to her feet, standing some inches taller than the doctor as she wrung her hands agitatedly.

"How long must he rest for?"

The physician mistook her agitation for concern and shrugged.

"That all depends upon how bad an attack this is. It could be a few days, it could be a month. I have recommended bed rest for him until all traces of the ailment have left him."

"He cannot travel?"

"Not for a distance as great as that to Hyrule, duchess. Even if he were what would be the point? His Grace intended to go to the kingdom for some silly joust thing and there's no chance he will be able to do that."

"But there is still a week for him to get over this before the joust; is there really no chance to go?"

"It would not be prudent, my lady."

As the physician left, Zelda made no attempt to hide her anger as she stormed straight up to her husband's room and burst through the door. There he lay, swathed in his heavy velvet and fur blankets with a fine sheen of sweat upon his face, and she hated him all the more for his illness as he glanced at her, trying his hardest to look pathetic. For days he had been complaining of stomach pains and then he had lain all night groaning and complaining until Gage had summoned the doctor, whose prescription had been so exasperating.

"So," Zelda said tersely. "You are unwell."

Phineas glanced at her, breathing heavily as he did so.

"I shall have someone convey my apologies to your father that we won't be making the tournament due to my most serious malady."

_You insufferable bastard, there's nothing wrong with you apart from trapped wind and indigestion._

"He will be disappointed," she managed to grate out through clenched teeth.

"Alas."

It hit her suddenly that with her husband consigned to his bed for two weeks at least that Zelda had a golden opportunity she could take advantage of if only she was able to find the bottle. She watched and waited until Phineas fell asleep before escaping the room to find Gage standing by the door.

"The duke has ordered that you prepare a carriage immediately. I leave for Hyrule within the hour."

Gage stared at her goggle eyed and blinked as though he were trying to make more sense of her request.

"What?"

"Duke Phineas is unwell," she explained slowly. "He is concerned that his illness may pass to me and has ordered that I spend the duration of his infirmity in my father's home in Hyrule."

Gage scratched his bristly head, frowning deeply.

"He said that?"

"Yes, he did," Zelda replied, a little more tensely. "Please be quick, I am in a hurry to leave."

"I'll just ask-"

"The duke is asleep and needs his rest," Zelda snapped. "Do you dare disobey a direct order from him?"

She breathed a silent sigh of relief as the manservant hurried off to carry out her orders.

"No turning back now."

Those minutes in the corridor seemed like a whole lifetime away to her now. The carriage rattled along the path, shuddering over every rut and pothole. Sleep was impossible, even if she had felt the inclination to sleep on the journey. Zelda sat rigidly in her seat, hands folded in her lap while her eyes gazed aimlessly at the bland landscape that stretched without end outside the window. The sun was beginning set, casting coppery rays over the flatlands and adding a strange sense of beauty to the otherwise featureless expanse.

_Relax, _she willed herself. _Everything will be fine. You have a whole week, nothing can hurt you at home._

Home. A sentiment that seemed so appealing but at the same time so totally strange. Could she truly regard Hyrule as her home anymore? How would things be in her childhood home now that her father had a new wife whom she hardly knew? And if things weren't the same then surely she could find something positive in the situation, maybe things would be better for her now that she was married and no longer a nuisance in the eyes of her father and his cronies.

_Everything will be fine,_ she thought again. _It **has** to be._

oOo

The weeks building up to the opening of the tournament had been passing as swiftly as they usually did, with carpenters hurriedly scurrying about the place trying to erect crowd barriers and stands for spectators, although this year they had been threatened with a world of trouble should the joust railings be as flimsy as their predecessors.

King Harkinian watched the hubbub from one of the windows high above the tournament field, his expression unreadable. Life went on in its usual way, but it seemed to him that even on this beautiful autumnal evening the world was full of shadows.

"You seem distant today, sire."

He turned from the window and directed his attention to Mentes, who sat at the king's desk with a pile of parchment scattered over the surface.

"My mind has been wandering for a while now, old friend. I think I'm getting old."

Mentes laughed good-naturedly.

"My lord, you cannot talk to me about getting old! If you are old then I am in the grave."

Harkinian cracked a wry smile.

"You have this impeccable knack of snapping me out of melancholia. I confess I've been distracted since hearing about Kal's demise, he was not so much younger than I."

"If you do insist on filling the court with the young and beautiful my king, I am afraid that one's age does creep up quite quickly."

The king's smile faltered momentarily.

"I do not insist, it is the queen's desire to have the beautiful and small-minded in her retinue. I cannot be bothered to argue with her."

He turned his attention back to the widow, missing Mentes' expression of shocked concern. Given the chance to study the monarch, the old tutor realised with alarm that he really was looking older, and he seemed to have lost a lot of weight over the past few months.

"When can we expect the princess to arrive, sire? I trust she will be staying longer than the duration of the tourney?"

The mention of his daughter caused the king to frown. It was strange, but lately she had been increasingly on his mind, ever since that day when Kal's adopted son had come to the castle to formally announce the captain's death. The boy had held the same quiet demeanour about him as Zelda, although there was something challenging about his gaze that went straight through the king, making him feel guilty for reasons he could not comprehend. Then he had remembered where he had first seen the boy, at the previous year's joust where he had caused such ripples. He had seen his daughter speaking to the lad and he had been surprised to see how animated and relaxed she became around him and how he had shown no trace of intimidation when talking to one so much higher than he on the social scale.

The young man, Link, had enquired the same thing about the princess as Mentes and completely ignored talking about Sibella. If Harkinian had been another man, he would have been incredibly insulted by the lack of respect shown to his wife.

"Within the next week," Harkinian replied. "Her last letter said that she would be arriving some days before the tournament began so that her husband would be able to prepare himself for the competition."

Harkinian closed his eyes and raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. His head was swimming and there was a strange buzzing in his ears. Opening his eyes he shook his head sharply, trying to clear his head.

"I look forward to seeing her," Mentes was saying earnestly. "No disrespect to Her Majesty, but the castle has not been the same since Her Highness departed for Aratea."

The king gripped the window ledge, surprised to see his hands shaking as his fingers clung to the woodwork.

"The princess adds a beauty to this old castle that no others can hope to emulate," Mentes continued.

"Yes, I suppose she does."

Suddenly, the king swayed where he stood and collapsed.

_to_ _be continued…_

A.N. I'm sorry that this took so long. I had hoped that this chapter would be up before Christmas- in fact, it was written and ready for a before Christmas posting but unfortunately my laptop hasn't been very well and seemed to take offence at the idea of logging onto the internet. I spent over two hours sitting in a laptop clinic with it today and now we seem to be without problems- fingers crossed!

This chapter has come to be known in my head as the Order of the Phoenix chapter- it's damn long (11, 133 words long excluding this bit and the disclaimer!) and not a lot of note happens, but I wanted all of it to happen now so that the next chapter can get down to the stuff that you've all been wanting from me. It took quite a while to write because a) I've been adjusting to student life at uni, b) I was laden with coursework essays at the end of November/beginning of December c) I've been spending too much time drinking and sleeping. Will try and do better this year, I promise.

Happy new year!

xxx Luce xxx


	18. Respite

Disclaimer: Legend of Zelda and all associated place names, characters and concepts are property of Nintendo. The only way I'll ever be able to claim any rights to it is if I have my name changed to Ninten Do, which won't be happening in the foreseeable future.

A.N: I'm sorry that this is so late. A lengthy explanation of _why_ it's taken me so long can be found on my bio page.

Vagabond II: The Past

Chapter 18: Respite

Sibella felt extremely uncomfortable.

Her retinue had decreased somewhat and those women who had not departed home for the night were sitting amusing themselves with games and gossip, completely oblivious to the anxiety that many more senior members of the castle were experiencing. The news of her husband's sudden illness had been passed discreetly to the queen and her mind had been occupied on what exactly it was she was supposed to do with this information when suddenly a page had burst through the door, out of breath and scarlet cheeked from running up several flights of stairs.

Sibella had blinked and looked at him quizzically.

"Yes?"

"Pardon the intrusion my lady," the boy had gasped, bowing hurriedly. "The Duchess of Aratea has just arrived and I-"

"_What?_"

Sibella had risen to her feet immediately, causing all of her companions to jump up and titter in surprise.

"The Duchess of Aratea has arrived and requests to see His Majesty."

Sibella swallowed the bitter retort on the tip of her tongue and regained her composure.

"I will see her."

"But Your Highness, she asked to be taken to her father and-"

"I said _I_ will see her. Please have someone show my cousin here."

And so she had arrived, a tall, subdued figure who stood quietly before the queen, taking in her appearance with a critical eye.

"Cousin," Sibella had said graciously, opening her arms out welcomingly. "Your presence surprises us. Ladies, you will leave us please."

The women had grumbled under their breath and slunk out of the round room, only to press their ears against the door and try to eavesdrop once the portal was shut.

Sibella looked at her cousin who was dressed so plainly that it allowed herself to feel momentarily pleased with her heavily embroidered gown and the jewels she sported. Zelda may have held the higher birth, but it was she, Sibella, who ruled now. She felt her nerves dissipate and she smiled.

"Zelda, I am pleased to see that you are well."

"And you," she replied quietly. "I have to admit I was surprised when I found out about your wedding."

The younger woman was regarding her relative curiously, as if trying to work her way around a problem that she could not solve.

"These matters come about in the most unexpected of ways. I myself was amazed at my husband's choice of consort for _you_."

Zelda's hands clenched at her sides.

"Yes."

Sibella sensed that she had touched a nerve and frowned.

"Are you well, cousin?"

Zelda nodded.

"And your husband?"

"Unwell. I am here so as not to be at risk."

"What a gentleman your lord is!" Sibella exclaimed, clasping her hands together in an expression of over-enthused approval.

"If that is how you chose to think it."

A moment of silence followed, where Zelda allowed her eyes to search every inch of the room in which she stood.

"You have redecorated in here," she said quietly.

"I like my rooms to have a personal feel to them," Sibella replied smoothly. "This parlour was really so plain that I had no choice."

"I always thought it was fine," Zelda said quietly. "The view of the gardens more than makes up for any shortcomings of the interior."

"It is a pretty view but not nice enough to beautify the room. Really, whoever did this room in the first place had no sense of style."

Zelda made her way over to the window and ran her fingers along the carved window ledge while the rain rattled against the window pane.

"It was my mother" she said quietly. "This was her painting room."

"Oh I know," Sibella said breezily. "It's only right that I use it now, don't you think? I'm sure that Aunt Thalia would have wanted it this way."

The princess' eyes were drawn to a small tapestry that hung in an alcove and Sibella felt mild irritation at the younger woman's reservation. It unnerved her to be in the presence of someone so withdrawn.

"I was told that my father is unwell," she said finally. "I would like to see him."

Sibella covered her surprise with a laugh.

"Unwell? Nonsense, he's just tired and has retired to his room," she replied. "Really dear Zelda, I would question your sources more carefully if I were you."

She chuckled lightly to herself, ignoring the tensing of her cousin's jaw and the slight narrowing of her eyes.

"Then he will not object to seeing me," Zelda returned.

Sibella watched in shock as the girl turned and walked from her presence without another word.

oOo

Like many men in power, the king of Hyrule had once harboured the belief that he was as good as immortal. During his youth he had been a golden prince of the realm, conquering his foes on the battlefield and cutting such a daunting form among both his political enemies and allies alike that he had felt untouchable. With success and prosperity came arrogance and he had strutted around his kingdom like the most conceited of popinjays.

Everything had changed the day he met _her_.

She had been a delicate looking girl with wide, smoky grey eyes and glossy dark hair that had been braided away from her face. That afternoon when they had met she had been sitting in the garden, nervously wringing her fawn coloured skirts with her pale hands when he had cleared his throat behind her. She had turned and stared at him, her expression completely unreadable to him.

"Good day Lady Thalia," he had said with the air of feigned boredom that he had perfected over the years.

She was twenty one years old, by no means the youngest of his potential brides but by far the most intriguing. She had curtsied dignifiedly and risen to meet the king's eyes. It had been a gaze with no fear behind it, merely an inquisitive look as she took in his appearance.

"I wish you a good day, Your Majesty," she had replied in smooth, even tones. "I understand that you went hunting this morning, I trust that your sport was enjoyable?"

Harkinian had been amazed, no woman had even spoken to him so calmly after their first introduction, he was almost always met with a feeble giggle and a fluttering of eyelashes. Lady Thalia on the other hand seemed more likely to sprout scales than flutter her eyelashes.

Her demeanour had been incredibly calm and gentle, sweet without being saccharine and beautiful without vanity. By the end of the week he had made up his mind that if he had to marry someone, then he could think of considerably worse options than Lady Thalia. Their wedding had been a suitably grand affair, accompanied by all the pomp and circumstance expected of such an event before they slipped into a comfortable routine as man and wife, blessed rapidly with the impending arrival of their first child. In a matter of months following their union, Thalia had managed to shatter all of the self-imposed walls of arrogance and frigidity around the king's heart and had exposed him in private to be a gentler man than any could have expected. She had taught him the delights of poetry and the arts, had impressed him with her natural horsemanship and her lively, intelligent conversation. He had introduced her to the extensive library which she visited regularly, much to his delight, as she would often sit in his chambers at night reading aloud passages from whichever book had caught her interest. Some nights, especially when her pregnancy became more advanced, he would sit by the fire with her head in his lap reading to her and their unborn child.

Outside their personal chambers, no-one suspected the extent of the royal couple's feelings and so were totally useless when dealing with the aftermath to the terrible tragedy that occurred the day their daughter struggled into the world. Harkinian's world had collapsed the day that the midwife appeared outside the queen's delivery suite, her face pale and tired.

"I have a son?" he had asked, bewildered.

The old woman had shaken her head.

"No Your Majesty, the queen delivered a princess."

A momentary pang of disappointment hit him, which he took in his stride.

"A girl…" he breathed. "Is she fair?"

For the first time a smile took residence on the woman's face, but it was a smile that was tinged with sadness.

"Aye sire, the bonniest little girl I've ever seen."

The king noticed her face and frowned.

"Then what is the problem? There's nothing wrong with her is there?"

"No sire, your daughter is fine."

Suddenly the horrible realisation dawned and his world collapsed around him before the midwife opened her mouth. He was deaf to her words, aware only of a horrible buzzing in his ears as she spoke.

"…Not an easy birth… the queen was slight of hips… terrible haemorrhaging… will not last the night…"

"I want to see her," he had snapped. "Let me see her."

And he had. He had sat by her side, grasping her cold, pale hand and whispering pleas to her that were heard only by the doctor and the strange Sheikah woman that Thalia had insisted on hiring to play nanny to the newborn. She had wanted to see the child and dutifully the Sheikah had brought her to them, a tiny little thing with a pink complexion, wisps of flaxen hair and a lovely rosebud shaped mouth. Harkinian's heart had twisted in his chest, overcome with the conflicting emotions as his dying wife held the creature responsible for her impending death in her arms.

"You are so much more beautiful than I dreamt you would be," Thalia whispered, brushing a fingertip over the sleeping child's cheek. "Isn't she perfect?"

Harkinian had nodded, unable to speak.

"Perfect," she had repeated. "Why am I so weak? I wanted to see you grow up little one, so badly."

"Please love," Harkinian had begged. "Save your strength."

"Take care of her." Thalia's pained eyes were fixed on his face. "She needs you, and you need her. Promise me you will."

Harkinian had kissed her, his whole form shaking with tears.

"Thalia, _I _need you. Please don't leave me."

She did, less than an hour later.

Thalia had barely been in her grave for a day when his ministers were swarming around dropping none too subtle hints which the devastated king heard and grew repulsed by.

"Such a shame that she left a daughter…"

"If only the little princess were a prince…"

"Perhaps Your Majesty should consider a new wife; I hear that queen's sister, the Lady Euphrosyne, is growing to be a most charming and beautiful creature."

"I do not want to hear it!" Harkinian had snapped, startling them all. "I shall be observing a five year mourning period for my wife and _then _you can come to me with talk of a new bride. I will not be a widower and groom within the same month."

"Sire," a more courageous minister sputtered once he had recovered from his initial shock, "please think of the late queen. She would not want you to jeopardise the safety of the throne."

"My throne is perfectly safe," the king growled. "Do not presume to lecture to me about my wife's mind and the wellbeing of my kingdom. You know nothing."

"Well if you won't think of the throne then think of your daughter. Doesn't Princess Thalia deserve a mother?"

Harkinian's face had paled in fury.

"How dare you call her that! That… _child_ will never be Thalia!"

The men looked shocked.

"Sire?"

"Her birth stole her mother from me," he muttered darkly. "She will not steal her name too."

Everything had changed after Thalia's death. The king threw himself into everything but a relationship with his infant daughter, leaving the princess' care to the Sheikah. One sleepless night, some weeks after her birth, the king had slipped into the baby's bedroom and taken the first glance at her since her mother's death and was distraught by what he saw. He had hoped to stare into the face of a tiny Thalia, dark haired and grey eyed; what he saw was sleeping princess whose skin was as fair as the silky golden hair that crowned her head and who could not have looked less like her mother if she had been birthed by another.

"Your daughter is a beautiful child, Your Majesty."

The Sheikah stood in the doorway, watching him with her strange red-hued eyes.

"Perhaps," he replied. "She… she has none of her mother's beauty."

"No Your Majesty, she has yours."

The peace was broken by the waking cries of the baby, who had been disturbed by the voices. When it became apparent that the king was not going to comfort his child, the Sheikah woman had gone to the crib herself and cradled the girl in her arms.

"No one expects your daughter to replace her mother, sire. In case it had escaped your attention, she is not the queen." Harkinian was taken aback by the frankness in her voice.

"The princess a person in her own right," the Sheikah continued. "Someday she may be queen in her own right, but she will never be able to take the place of Queen Thalia. No-one should ever have to shoulder that burden, least of all a child."

"You are very forward, madam," he had said quietly.

"Forgive me, I'm not in the habit of holding my tongue."

He had said nothing, watching his daughter. She had long since stopped crying and was lying quietly in the attendant's arms, watching her father with wide eyes that were bluer and more beautiful than his could ever aspire to be. He glanced away quickly.

"What do you call her?"

"Princess. It's not my place to name her, it's yours."

Her words had rung true and he stayed still for a while, looking everywhere but at his daughter.

"Thalia had a fondness for the name Zelda. So she will be… Zelda, and Aurelia for her ancestors."

He had left the room without looking back.

She had grown quickly, too quickly, and before he knew it he was being constantly plagued by the child's presence at every corner he turned. Her bright, merry laughter followed him for the rest of the day should he hear it just once; it was a higher pitch but it was unmistakably like her mother's. Things grew worse as she grew elder- he had first seen her ride at the age of seven and had been so taken aback by her similarity to Thalia in the saddle that he had retired to his room for the rest of the evening to get over it. And when he had last seen her… her face had been so pale and troubled…

"Are you in pain?"

Roused from his dozing, Harkinian blinked and looked around him. He was lying in his bed, surrounded by doctors and a few concerned ministers, including Mentes, but lacking, for some reason, Dezauras- he would send for him later. There was a slight ache in his arm, but he put that down to being bled. He felt slightly woozy, but as far as he could tell there was no pain and he shook his head.

"Your Majesty, the queen wishes to see you."

"_Thalia_?"

He missed the shocked looks exchanged between members of his concerned audience.

"No sire," one of them said gently. "Sibella."

"I don't want to see her," he said petulantly. "There is no-one I want to see."

"My lord," Mentes ventured, "will you see your daughter?"

The king's eyes widened in surprise.

"I've slept for a week?"

"No Your Majesty, she was forced to come earlier."

The air in the room grew tense as Harkinian seemed to deliberate over the idea for longer than many thought was strictly necessary.

"I will see her."

oOo

"…So then Link told me that I could ride Hoarfrost and I did and it was brilliant, I felt like I was a real knight Impa! Impa? Impa, you're not listening to me!"

Dayne folded his arms and pouted, shooting daggers at his aunt's back as she sat by the hearth.

"I am listening," she replied levelly. "But you're not giving me any opportunity to comment. You haven't drawn breath since you came in."

"That's 'cause I've got so much to tell you," the boy replied. "Link said I can be his squire when I'm older and he's a real knight and then I'll be a real knight too, Sir Dayne of Kakariko!"

"So you won't be going into the service of the Royal Family then?" Impa asked wryly, quirking an eyebrow.

Dayne squirmed under her stare and then drew himself up proudly, standing tall under her scrutiny.

"I'll be a Royal Guard. Anyway, unless the queen has a baby there won't be any more royals for me to protect anyway."

"Dayne, you mustn't say things like that," Impa said sharply.

The boy scowled.

"Why? That's what everyone's saying, and the king was so mean to the princess that he doesn't deserve another baby anyway."

"That's enough!" Impa snapped, getting to her feet in such a way that Dayne cringed. "You do _not _speak out against the Royal Family in this house, is that understood?"

"But he is," Dayne protested. "Link said so!"

Impa shook her head, sighing in exasperation and mentally reminding herself to berate Link for his loose tongue.

"Dayne, not everything that Link says is law and he has no right to talk that way. Do not go around repeating what you just said."

A rumble of thunder overhead made the boy jump.

"Aunt Impa, why are you still nice about the king when he gave the princess away and fired you as soon as she left?"

Impa gazed wistfully out of the window at the storm, her expression unreadable.

"Because he is the king of Hyrule, because he is a man who is hurting more than he will ever admit to himself or to his people and because he is Princess Zelda's father. I am a Sheikah Dayne, it is in my blood. My life is bound to their fate, yours too perhaps. We are destined to protect them just as they are destined to protect the people of Hyrule."

"So… That's a pretty important job, right?"

"Yes, a very important job."

"So why don't people like us then?"

Impa turned her attention back to her nephew and smiled.

"People fear what they don't understand. Some people are scared of us, some admire us, others like us and others trust us, sometimes all four if we're lucky. Deep down Dayne, the Royal Family are as loyal to us as we are to them and it will be a cold day on Death Mountain when no Sheikah respect that. Remember that."

Suddenly the door rattled on its hinges as someone outside hammered on it so hard that it challenged the thunder. Dayne jumped again and then scuttled over to answer.

The man on the other side of the door wore a brown waxed cloak that was dripping wet from the storm. He performed a double take at the sight of the small half Sheikah who peered up at him quizzically.

"Hello, can I help you?"

"I need to see Mistress Impa most urgently."

Impa had joined her nephew at the door and regarded her guest impassively.

"You had better come in then," she said warily. "You are here on Royal Business I presume?"

"I can't come in, I've been ordered to bring you to the castle immediately."

"On whose orders?"

The messenger squirmed under her intense gaze,

"It was less of an order and more a request. His Majesty has been taken ill, it was suggested by Master Mentes that you would be a good person to have at the castle and Her Highness agreed heartily-"

"Her Highness?" Impa couldn't help but look amazed. "Surely you can't mean the queen?"

"No, I mean Princess Zelda. She took us all by surprise, she turned up after sunset in a carriage on her own."

Dayne was amazed to see the expression of shock on his aunt's face.

"On her own? Where is Duke Phineas?"

The messenger shrugged and decided to take up the earlier offer to come in as the rain continued to pummel him.

"Her Highness only said that she was here because her husband couldn't come. Master Mentes tried to get more out of her but she wouldn't say anything."

Impa frowned.

"How does she… seem to you?"

"How do you mean ma'am?"

"Does Princess Zelda seem different to you?"

The messenger was slowly edging towards the fire, trying to coerce a little heat into his soaked, frozen bones.

"I wouldn't know; I didn't know her as well as you did. The closest I ever got to meeting her was taking a letter to her to one of her maids."

"I see."

"Aunt Impa," Dayne asked, perplexed by his aunt's sombreness. "Are you going to go to the castle?"

Both he and the messenger watched her face intently and were unsurprised to see her nod.

oOo

"Link! Dinner!"

Saria bit back a giggle as Link waved from his balcony and scurried down the ladder with his cloak covering his head in such a way that he looked less like a person and more like a big brown sack with legs. It amazed her that he didn't miss a single rung on the ladder or trip over his own feet as he ran to her house.

"Gods it's nasty out there," he gasped as he shook the rain from his hair. "I'm glad I got that lean-to built for Epona."

"Oh, so that's what you were doing all day. I thought you were adding to the house."

"Why should I do that? There's more than enough room for me."

He sat down at the table and grinned as the Kokiri girl put a big bowl of soup down in front of him.

"I don't know, you said that the bed wasn't big enough the other day and you kept falling out of it…"

"Yeah, but I fixed that."

Saria sat down beside him and passed him a crusty bread roll.

"You might have been building a kitchen so I wouldn't have to cook for you anymore."

Link laughed.

"Is that a hint?"

Saria stirred her soup and scooped up a large spoonful.

"Well what are you going to do when you live in your big fancy house outside the forest?"

"I'll have loads of servants waiting on my every whim to cook for me," he told her assuredly. "And I'll make sure that they send you large packages of food whenever you want them."

"That'll be nice," Saria told him before slurping up a mouthful of soup. "But I'd like it better if you stayed here."

"Me too Sar," he replied. "Nothing beats your mushroom soup!"

The green haired girl looked affronted, causing Link to laugh and spill half of his spoonful of soup onto his lap.

"Saria, you're not taking that personally are you? Because your soup, though amazing, is nothing compared to you."

He smiled at her and scratched his head.

"How's the Temple?"

The Forest Sage shrugged.

"Fine. Everything's beautiful there at the moment, it's like the leaves are on fire. You should come with me next time, it feels like forever since we last went there together."

"I know. I'm sorry Saria, I've not been a very good friend lately, have I?"

She smiled at him warmly.

"What are you talking about? I know you can't be here all the time and I don't want you to be. There's a huge world outside the forest that you belong to and I can't keep you here. Besides, you're a grown up and we're all kids. It must get pretty boring for you here."

"'Course not, this is home. I can't get bored of it that easily." He picked up his bowl and threw the last of the soup down his throat with a loud slurp. "_That_ was great. Any more?"

Saria looked at his hopeful face and laughed as she ladled more soup into his bowl.

"You know, when I see you like this it's like you haven't changed one little bit."

Link paused from dunking a hunk of bread into his bowl and frowned.

"What d'you mean?"

"I mean you don't seem like yourself," she said quietly. "And I'm worried about you."

Link let his spoon rest against the rim of the bowl and said nothing for a few moments.

"But I'm fine Saria, really," he said eventually, cracking his best beaming smile. "You don't need to worry about me!"

"Oh but I do Link, I worry about you lots!" she argued. "I worry when you smile at me like that because it's not a real smile at all, it's an empty smile and it's not yours. You're keeping things bottled up and it's not like you."

He lowered his eyes to his lap, unable to bring himself to meet her concerned face.

"I don't know who I'm supposed to be any more," he murmured.

Saria felt a wave of pity and got to her feet.

"Just be you," she said softly and she embraced him. "Don't be anyone else but Link."

She held his head against her chest, stroking his hair the way that she used to when he was little. He leaned into her embrace and closed his eyes, all the while wishing that he could act upon her words.

oOo

Zelda's hands were shaking badly by her sides as she crossed the threshold into her father's room. All eyes in the castle had appeared to be upon her as she had made her way from Sibella's parlour up to the western wing where her father's quarters were. The experience had seemed awkward to her, and more than a little like the practices she had left behind her in Aratea. She knew that here at least she would not be gossiped about; the castle staff had watched her grow up and she had always been polite, friendly and gracious to them as Impa had taught her to be, but there were more strange faces than there had been when she had last been present in the castle.

There was a great crowd surrounding the king's bed. For a moment she stood unobserved by the door, listening to the anxious whispers of those further back and seeking out familiar faces. She spied Master Mentes standing close to her father's bedside and had felt a great wave of relief until a minister she was unfamiliar with turned and caught sight of her.

"Your Grace!"

Immediately she was the centre of attention and drew herself stiffly to her full height. With the gravity and nobility that had been drummed into her from years of training, she inclined her head to those assembled as they awkwardly performed a half bow in her direction.

"Leave us."

The voice was her father's, gravelly and weak from the bed. The slight vestiges of calm she had acquired vanished rapidly and were replaced with a knot of panicky nerves as the men filtered away from the room, talking in low voices and sounding like a swarm of black flies. Mentes shot her a parting, reassuring look, but it was missed by her entirely.

"Come closer."

She crossed the room slowly, the soles of her shoes tapping a rhythmic path across the polished wooden floorboards. Her father's eyes, dull and critical, were fixed upon her as she approached his side. Like a dutiful daughter she knelt by his bed, bowing her head and subconsciously screwing her eyes shut in apprehension.

For what seemed an age, silence reigned over the king's bedroom.

She could feel his eyes upon her, appraising her appearance probably. Outside, another rumble of thunder reverberated in the air, quieter than its earlier brothers. A moment after Zelda started to feel more uncomfortable, she was startled to feel a cold hand under her chin, gently but insistently tilting her face upwards. Her eyes flew open in surprise and for a moment they stared long and hard at each other. The king's face, she noticed, looked grey and haggard and most unlike the face of the man she had grown up in awe and fear of.

"You've changed…"

Harkinian's voice was hushed, almost reverent.

"Your Majesty," she replied. "I am sorry to find you unwell, are you comfortable?"

"Having you here is a great comfort."

_What?_

"Father?" she enquired once she was able to find her voice.

"I've thought of you a great deal over this last year," he continued. "I have treated you very poorly, I think."

She didn't say anything, just stared at him with a growing sense of disbelief.

"I realise that I know nothing about you, my own daughter. Your mother, she would have been ashamed of me."

"I… I don't know," Zelda replied, unable to think of anything else to say.

"Will you allow me to learn, my child?" he asked. "Can you forgive me?"

"There is nothing that Your Majesty has done that I must forgive," she answered carefully. "You are the best of kings."

"And the worst of fathers. My beautiful Zelda…"

She flinched; her father had never once referred to her in such tender terms.

"I was afraid I think," he murmured. "I couldn't afford another loss like that."

His words were alarming and she demurely lowered her eyes to her lap, unable to work out what he meant.

"Like what, father?"

She glanced back up and saw that he had drifted off to sleep.

oOo

"What is _she _doing here?"

The door slammed behind the irate minister as Dezauras stormed into Sibella's parlour. His face held more than a slight trace of anger as he marched towards the queen.

"Who, my lord?" Sibella asked, smiling sweetly at the man as best she could whilst her maids looked at her aghast.

"You. Out," he barked at the other women who immediately rose to their feet.

"Just a moment ladies, Lord Dezauras is not at liberty to dismiss you," Sibella interrupted. "As Lord Dezauras is well aware."

He glowered at her as she smiled at her servants and nodded for them to go. The queen offered him a triumphant grin before his temper flared up.

"What did she talk to you about? Where is she?"

"I shall ask again my lord Dezauras: of whom do you speak?"

"You know who I'm talking about!" he snapped. "_She_ is not supposed to be here _now_!"

"Can I get you a drink sir?" Sibella asked coolly, gliding towards a sideboard that bore a pair of goblets and a decanter. "You seem distressed…"

"Of course I'm distressed you stupid woman," Dezauras hissed. "Why wasn't I told that she'd be coming here now?"

"Because no one knew," Sibella replied, turning to him with two goblets filled with wine. "And I would thank you not to undermine my authority in the presence of my attendants, is that understood?"

Dezauras answered her request with a glare.

"Now my lord, why does my stepdaughter's presence bother you so?" she asked, bring her goblet to her lips. "After all, she's only a weak-minded and feeble little girl, why should she be so intimidating?"

Dezauras met the queen's eyes and detected a hint of amusement on her face. Forcing his anger back into the pit of his stomach, he took a gulp of wine and adopted his unaffected façade.

"She is a lot more than she seems. I haven't yet worked out why, but she can't be left to her own devices."

"From what _I _have seen," Sibella replied, "she's a small fry. Absolutely no sense of humour, and not even all that pretty. I cannot understand why you hold her in such high esteem."

Dezauras could recognise the voice of a jealous woman when he heard it and allowed a smirk to creep up onto his lips.

"That is because you are a woman Sibella and unable to understand the way that the world works. Your cousin happens to understand it far better than you and that is why she is not to be trusted."

"What are you up to?" Sibella asked quizzically, tilting her head to one side. "You have been _very_ uptight lately. If I didn't know you better Dezauras, I would say that you were hiding something from me…"

"If I were 'up to something' as you put it, why should it be any concern of yours?" he countered, becoming irritated with Sibella's airs and graces and candidly flirtatious manner. "I'm curious as to why she's here and without her husband."

"Oh he's ill somewhere and sent his dear, darling wife home in order to keep her health at its best," Sibella said idly. "Of course that's not how everyone else will view it; they'll all think she's come here because he wanted her out of the way so he could play with his mistress."

She smiled as she ran her index finger around the lip of her glass.

"Or at least they _will _do, soon enough."

Dezauras regarded her little smirk warily, his mind pondering over this most recent piece of information. Zelda's excuse sounded nothing like Phineas's work.

"Do not underestimate her Sibella, she will make you look a fool."

"Nonsense," she scoffed. "Am I the queen here or is she? She is a guest in _my _castle and I will not play second fiddle to her. She must dance to _my _tune."

oOo

Impa was surprised to find the princess standing like a column before the fireplace with her arms wrapped around herself to blot out some imaginary chill. The room was cold; with so much happening it was obvious that no-one had seen fit to prepare the princess' room adequately. The Sheikah took advantage of her not been noticed and noted the changes in her former charge, immediately seeing that she was taller and that her features appeared gaunter than she remembered them.

"You don't need to stare at me from the shadows, Impa," Zelda said quietly. "If you want to look at me I'd prefer if you did it where I can see you and defend myself."

Displaying no signs of sheepishness, the older woman crossed into the room and wasted no time in embracing her.

"You're too thin," Impa told her, having drawn back to look the princess in the eye. "Have you been taking care of yourself properly?"

"Still treating me like a child," Zelda mused.

"I worry about you, don't ask me not to. You don't know how many times I've wanted to take you away from that horrible place and keep you hidden away in Kakariko."

"I can't say that the thought is unappealing."

"We would be happy to have you," Impa said, all trace of a joke vanishing as she spoke. "Even if it were as Sheik."

"Even if such a thing were possible I can't do that."

"Why on earth not?"

"Because…" Zelda stared into the empty fireplace, watching the blue-grey ashes stir in the grate with a breath of evening breeze. "I can't look to the past to secure my future."

"Stop talking in riddles, princess."

"Someone once told me that I should run away from my responsibilities and I will tell you what I told him. Hiding away will solve nothing, it will only worsen the situation for everyone involved."

Impa said nothing and crossed to the fireplace, taking logs from the wood basket and piling them into the grate.

"He's back you know." The princess stood silent and made no acknowledgement to hearing what had been said. "He misses you."

The room remained still and soundless, save for the crackling of the fire that Impa was coaxing into life.

"How is he?" Zelda's voice was soft.

"Well enough. Kal died not too long ago, it's affecting Link more than he would like to admit to it. I think that he would appreciate seeing you."

_Every time I look at you I see everything that I'm not and I hate you for having that freedom because it's something that I'll never have._

Zelda swallowed the lump that had risen to her throat and smiled weakly.

"Of course."

"Link is not what I am here to discuss. I can't say that your letters have left me in the highest of spirits, Zelda. I'm… well, I won't mince my words. I'm very concerned about you."

"Why? I'm fine," Zelda said, brushing her old attendant with a dazzlingly empty smile. "Married life was never going to be the same as life here. I suppose it's just taking me a little longer than I'd like to settle into it."

Impa snorted derisively.

"Don't look at me that way," the princess said sternly. "I'm alright Impa, honestly."

"There is a considerable difference in being merely 'alright' and being happy, as I hoped you would understand."

"One has to take what one is given and learn to be content." Zelda's tone had adopted a slightly wooden edge to it. "I cannot complain."

"If I had five Rupees for every time you had told me that," the Sheikah remarked sharply, "then I would have been able to retire long ago."

"Please Impa, if you could berate me about anything other than my sorry excuse for a marriage then I would be greatly appreciative. I'm very tired, today has been extremely trying."

"One of my only complaints about you is that you are not exactly forthcoming when it comes to realising your mistakes. You never have been. Why can't you understand that I only say these things because I care about you?"

_Because I hate admitting that I'm wrong. Because I hate that my wisdom is flawed. Because I hate myself for not being strong enough to put a stop to what I have known all along to be wrong._

"Old habits die hard," the princess replied sullenly.

Impa searched her face and shook her head sadly.

"I wish you'd forget your damnable pride sometimes Zelda and admit that you need help. You are the closest thing that I have to a child, I know that you're not happy and I hate it."

Zelda stood coolly under Impa's gaze, feeling relieved that the bruises Phineas had left on her body were duly covered by her gown and gloves. She felt emotionally and physically exhausted after her journey, after being told about her father's illness and after her trying confrontation with her new stepmother. The last thing she wanted to do was drag up all of the terrible memories she had been trying to blot out by returning to what she still regarded as her home.

oOo

There was something about the prospect of going through the motions at court that always made Link feel particularly glum in the mornings. Etiquette at court was the one lesson that Kal had had to drum especially hard into his young protégé's head and Link was determined, now that he had his place at court, not to lose it through a lack of manners. Court etiquette demanded that he make an appearance at an ensemble meal at least twice a week, so off to the castle he went, head held high and empty smile plastered onto his face. Today he was hoping to just practice with the other knights in the grounds and cause enough of a spectacle to get away without turning up to lunch. He always lost his appetite around courtiers.

_Why the hell are you bothering when it means absolutely nothing to you anymore?_

Once upon a time, a little boy from the forest had looked up at Hyrule Castle with a sense of awe and fascination, knowing that behind its walls was a strange and wonderful existence that was so close but beyond his reach, one where everyone knew who he was and respected him. Someday he would walk into a room and the whole place would turn to look at him, just because it was he, Link, the Hero of Time, who had suddenly graced the people with his presence. He would be a hero, loved and revered by all, an equal to the royals themselves. Then the little boy had begun to grow up and had seen this sparkling ideal fade into a world with strange and idiotic rules. All of the great minds that had once been housed at court had been replaced by a horde of people so fake and desperate to please that it left a bad taste in his mouth, and he found himself the centre of attention but not the sort that he wanted. Married women, bored of their rich husbands and their eventless lives, batted their eyelashes and swished their skirts at him. He was, they said, the most exciting thing that had happened there in a long time. Sibella was the worst by far. She made it a point to beckon him over at any opportunity and flirt outrageously, smiling at him with greedy eyes and a seductively curved mouth.

"A queen has to have her favourites, Sir Link," she had said one afternoon as her hand found an unwelcome resting place on his thigh as he sat by her. "If you play the game well enough, you might be mine."

He had forgotten his temper and forcefully removed her hand with an icy look that had made her flinch.

"I don't have any interest in the sort of games you like playing."

He had laughed about the whole thing later that afternoon when he was exercising Hoarfrost. Sibella had looked more shocked than he had ever seen her, her pretty little mouth no longer smirking but flapping like a fish. It was absurd- the domain of the rich and powerful was nothing more than a glorified playground.

It wasn't all bad, he reflected. The times when he sat with the knights and their squires were when he felt most comfortable. Most of them had a lingering fondness for Kal and it was amongst these men that Link found his comrades. Kal's good friend Lord Murtol was quick to take the young man under his wing, which immediately won the approval of the high-flying young knights Sir Gillum, Sir Rollen and Sir Tarken, who had been looking for a fourth member of their close knit group. The old favourites were jealous of him on sight, no one more than Kal's old adversary Wrel.

The castle was still and quiet when Link rode Hoarfrost up the path; the sun was still low in the sky and had not yet broken down the heavy dew that soaked the grass banks along the road. Puddles from the previous night's downpour lay like mirrors on the hardcore, still and glassy. This was always Link's favourite time of day, when the world was still and it seemed the only souls alive were himself and Hoarfrost, who snorted and tossed his head, his breath misting in the cool morning air. He had been making a conscientious effort to befriend the gelding and get a rapport going with him before the joust the following week. Epona seemed to be extremely put out by all of the extra attention her hated rival was getting, despite Link's best efforts to placate her; she had pointedly ignored him the night before. Saria had laughed his concerns off as paranoia when he had told her.

"Link, she's just a horse."

"She's not just a horse Saria, she's Epona. She's special."

"Link…"

"No I'm serious. She's like family and she thinks I've replaced her. It's going to give her a complex."

"Horses don't get complexes, Link."

"_She _might," he had argued, and glumly chewed on his bread.

He was going to have to get the mare's approval back and he knew full well how he could do that. The only problem was it involved hunting with the court and, as much as he adored his horse and the thrill of riding in the thick of dozens of other horses, he knew that if he went then all of Sibella's ladies and the lady herself would trail him the whole day and _that _was a less appealing prospect. Still, if he wanted to cheer Epona up…

Before he knew it he was crossing the drawbridge into the inner grounds of the castle and up to the stables.

oOo

When she woke up the following morning, Zelda had absolutely no idea where she was. Then, as the blanket of sleep eventually slipped away, her memory of the events of the day before came back to her and she recognised her surroundings. She was curled up in a ball in her old bed, huddled up under her blankets and shivering from the cold around her. The fire Impa had lit had burned itself out and no-one had come in to re-lay it yet. Judging by the quality of the light seeping in through the windows, it was still very early.

Zelda sighed and rolled onto her back, staring up at the canopy above her bed. Nothing seemed to have changed. The heavy ivory drapes with their sapphire silk embroidery still hung around her dark wood bed frame, the creaky floorboard by her washstand hadn't been replaced and her favourite tapestry... was missing. Zelda sat up at once, shocked by its absence. Once upon a time the tapestry had belonged to her mother, Impa told her, and had come with her from her family home to Hyrule Castle when she married the king. It was a beautiful piece, intricately woven and depicting one of Zelda's favourite myths about the moon goddess Lune falling in love with a mortal shepherd. The stars and the beautiful maiden goddess' hair and robes had been stitched with shimmering silver thread; as a child Zelda had been convinced that the threads contained stardust which was why they sparkled the way they did. It had hung over the mantelpiece of her fireplace for as long as she could remember, and to find it missing was very upsetting. She would have to ask Impa about it later.

Unable to fall back to sleep, Zelda slipped out of bed and washed her face with the chilly water in her basin, banishing the remaining traces of sleep from her eyes. She felt exhausted and confused after the events of the previous night, especially her meeting with her father. None of the doctors had been able to tell her exactly what was wrong with him, his ailment had come on suddenly and without warning but they were convinced he would be back to his old self soon enough.

If that was the case, why had she got the impression that last night he had been trying to make his peace with her?

oOo

One of the lads in the stables had told Link on arrival that the king had been taken ill in the night and he had immediately postponed his jousting plans.

Something about the news seemed very, very suspicious to him. The king had been in excellent health when he had seen him the day before; he had been laughing at Sir Tarken's antics as he had perfectly mimicked one of the more stupid members of Sibella's entourage. He had shown absolutely no signs of ill health at all. The inquisitive side of Link's nature came into play and he was determined to get to the bottom of this, whatever it was.

As soon as he entered the castle itself, the back of his left hand began to prickle and suddenly felt hot. Ignoring it, he carried on walking into the heart of the building and began to ascend the steps. His left hand grew hotter and he suddenly felt a very distinct and strong pulse of the Triforce of Courage, causing him to shiver. Curious, he took off his gauntlet and looked carefully at the skin. The Triforce mark was pronounced and burning hot. That had never happened before.

"Weird," Link breathed. "Maybe there's more to this than I thought."

There were servants rushing about everywhere, trying to get their early morning chores out of the way as quickly as possible. Too focused on the strange behaviour of the Triforce, Link carried on walking without seeing any of them.

_This way,_ a voice was telling him. _You have to keep going this way._

He looked up and found himself in a part of the castle he had never been to. Suddenly, a particularly insistent pulse of the Triforce of Courage made him stop in his tracks. A fragile figure who stood gazing aimlessly out of the window turned her face to look at him and he felt his mouth open unbidden.

She couldn't be Zelda…

She wasn't supposed to be here yet…

She _couldn't _be…

Her eyes met his and the Triforce began to glow on both of their hands.

"Link."

That pale, timid looking creature garbed in an ill-fitting, plain dress was not and never would be the Zelda that he remembered. This girl didn't smile; there was no fire behind her eyes, nothing that suggested the powerful young woman who he had grown up with. His memories of the Zelda he had known at seventeen were at odds with the Zelda who stood before him, she seemed to shrink under his gaze and wither. She looked tired and devoid of any energy, almost lifeless, the vitality about her all but gone.

"Zelda…"

She tried to escape the sympathy in his eyes but could not; it was as though he was seeing all of the hardships that she had faced over the past year and was trying desperately to find some way to heal them.

"You look well," she said, struggling to break the awkward silence.

"What are you doing here? I thought that you'd…" He trailed off, seeming to see her properly for the first time now that the surprise had worn off. "Farore, what has he done to you?"

Zelda felt her defensive walls tremble momentarily in the wake of the worry in his voice, not helped by the way that he continued to stare at her with unrestrained concern.

"I must go, my father's ill and I have to… "

She tried to make her escape, only to have it hindered with him grabbing her wrist. Fighting the hiss of pain as he unwittingly caught one of her bruises, Zelda turned her attention back to her concerned friend.

"Please Zelda, I want- can I talk to you?"

She caught his gaze and looked straight at him with an expression that struck him as being so helpless it scared him.

"I have to go, I'll be missed."

She was panicking, and Link really didn't know why.

"Meet me later." His tone was urgent and caring. "I just want to talk to you."

"Link I-"

"I'm sorry I spoke to you the way I did the last time… well. I was out of line. And I'm sorry. So please, won't you just…"

She allowed her eyes to travel up his face and meet his, her breath hitching in the back of her throat as she took in his appearance. The concern in his eyes, it was just like…

"_Sheik! Sheik, are you OK?"_

"_Ganon you bastard, let her go!"_

"_You… want me to go back, Princess?"_

Zelda swallowed and averted her eyes, desperate not to look into the familiar face of the Hero of Time. It was too painful.

"Please Link, I need to go to my father."

The tight grip on her wrist loosened slightly and she chanced a glimpse at his face, noticing now that his attention had left her.

"I understand." He straightened up and let his face slip into a mask of neutrality that didn't suit him at all. "I trust that I shall see Your Highness at dinner."

No more was said as he bowed to her and Zelda felt numb with shock. She knew that tone, that act of courteous indifference masking every semblance of emotion from the individual, even if their heart was breaking. She had _invented _that act.

She watched him walk away and then shook her head.

_You've let him walk away too often._

"Link wait!"

He stopped turned back to face her with a shadow of hopefulness playing across his features and her heart immediately felt lighter.

"You know where to go, I'll be there as soon as I can."

For the first time that evening, a relieved and happy grin came to his face.

"I'll hold you to that."

oOo

Dezauras saw Zelda leaving her father's room just as he was answering the king's summons to his bedside. Wanting to watch her unobserved, he pressed his back against the wall and obscured himself behind a pillar. She was thinner, paler and still absolutely heart-stopping. The final traces of childhood had left her face entirely, leaving behind a refined and delicate beauty unlike any other woman in court, her cousin included. He felt a painful wave of longing as she walked hurriedly away wearing a frown. Suddenly he pulled himself to his senses.

It looked as if she was trying to work something out.

Dezauras stepped away from the wall, hiding any trace of concern from his face. Zelda's presence would certainly hinder his plans for a while, but it did not matter. She would not be there forever, and he would just have to wait until she was gone to pick up the pace again. It would not do to have her find him out when everything was going so well.

He would just have to play his hand a little more cautiously for the time being.

oOo

"_Who!_ _Who are you? How did you get past the guards?"_

"_I'm… uh, well, I'm-"_

"_Oh, is that a fairy?"_

The air was damp and smelt of wet earth as she walked under the archway into the inner courtyard. He was a dark form in the partial darkness, tall and confident in himself as he waited for her.

"Link?"

He turned to face her and smiled a guarded, thoughtful smile.

"Were you expecting somebody else?"

She tried to smile back and shook her head when she failed.

"No."

"_I know this is a prophecy that someone would come from the forest…"_

"_I did! I'm a Kokiri!"_

"_Yes, I thought you might be the one."_

They stood in silence for a moment, both watching and waiting for the other to speak.

"So-"

"Link I-"

They both laughed uneasily and Zelda glanced down at her feet, watching the rain-damp grass soak the suede of her shoes. It was funny how she couldn't feel the wet upon her toes.

"You're here early," Link said finally. "I thought you'd be here next week."

"If I hadn't acted, I wouldn't be here at all."

He arched a sandy eyebrow at her, the gesture proving as inquisitive as any question might have been.

"I couldn't stay there any longer," she said quickly, glancing up and looking straight into his eyes. "Phineas is ill, he wasn't able to compete and I wasn't supposed to come here. But I came anyway. I just knew that I had to get away Link, is that so terrible?"

"Not at all."

"_I…I am afraid…"_

She laughed nervously and pressed her back against the wall, breathing deeply.

"I wish that I had listened to you. I'm sorry. You were right Link. I've thrown away my life."

"Zelda…"

"No, hear me out. I was wrong. I accepted defeat too easily and I should have stood up for myself. But I didn't and now I have to live with the consequences, no matter how abhorrent I may find them and believe me, they can quite often surpass abhorrent and become terrible. I was a fool; an easily channelled, weak little fool. I beg your forgiveness for being quite so narrow minded and short sighted."

He looked at her long and hard, his hard blue gaze taking in her harrowed appearance without any triumph.

"It isn't me you should be asking to forgive you, Zelda. You need to forgive yourself."

She shook her head.

"That is something you cannot ask me to do."

"Then I'm sorry. For you."

He put a hand on her shoulder, the heat from his fingers seeping through the heavy fabric of her dress.

"You always have been too hard on yourself Zel. I know everyone feels the need to play the martyr but sometimes you take it too far."

She felt herself bristling at his words.

"And what is-"

"You care too much about everyone else and not enough about yourself," he said quickly, eager to defuse the argument before it erupted. "And you think too much. What you need to do is loosen up and have some fun like any normal girl our age would do."

She snorted derisively.

"So now I'm abnormal and introverted."

"_No._ You're analytical and uptight. I hereby take it upon myself to show you a good time for as long as you are here, even if it kills me."

He smiled at her, and in spite of herself she found herself smiling feebly back.

"_But suddenly, a ray of light shot out of the forest, parted the clouds and lit up the ground..."_

_To be continued…_


	19. Changes

Dislaimer: Legend of Zelda is ©Nintendo and spawned from the fertile recesses of Shigeru Miyamoto's brain material.

AN: Sorry, sorry, sorry!

Vagabond reached its 200th review on Saturday 13th May (thank you embyr-75)! A massive thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read and review over the last three(!) years that this story's been going; I've read and appreciated every comment left. As it stands, I think we're about half way there, if not a little over. I know a lot of people have figured certain things out regarding three of our characters, but I promise there are going to be more revelations to come.

On a minor note, I'm now twenty, and that is truly terrifying. I think my parents thought when I first started writing that I would have outgrown this phase by now but clearly I haven't, and nor do I intend to for quite some time. Ha.

Vagabond II: The Past

Chapter 19: Changes.

Link decided that it wouldn't be such a bad thing to stay around the castle for a little longer that day.

Zelda had become one of the hottest topics of conversation and it seemed that every single person at court wanted to talk either _to _her or _about_ her. Sibella was not looking at all happy about the situation and neither was Zelda.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he brushed past her.

Zelda shrugged.

"I'm baffled. Is this _all _they do?"

"What, sit about gossiping and acting like children? Pretty much," he replied, offering her his arm.

Sibella had declared that they should head to the garden and so they did, with many of her favoured ladies watching with obvious disdain that Link had opted to escort the princess instead of them.

"Charming," Zelda retorted, and then looked straight ahead at the form of her stepmother.

"She likes to think of herself as a mistress of ceremonies," Link whispered. "It's like watching a little girl playing with her dolls. Can be quite funny sometimes, especially when everyone goes along with the inanities she comes up with."

"Such as?"

"She _loves _fancy dress," Link told her with a roll of his eyes. "In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if she adds a theme to the tournament ball."

"You are joking."

"Sadly not," he told her, slipping an expression of phoney severity onto his face. "She must be stopped."

He was expecting her to come back with a suitably cutting remark, just as she always used to. Instead he felt her shoulders slump and saw her gaze travel downwards.

"She _is_ the queen, she can do what she wants."

"Zelda…"

"Cousin!" Sibella called from the front of the party.

Zelda raised her head and noticed that she was the object of everyone's attention and let her hand slip away from the crook of Link's arm.

"Your Highness," she replied, bobbing a small curtsey.

Link's eyes narrowed as he heard a chorus of titters from Sibella's closest cronies and he did his best to glare at them inconspicuously.

"Come and walk with me, cousin. You are my lord's daughter, you shouldn't have to suffer all the way at the back."

Link felt his heart lurch as she walked obediently forward to join the queen, knowing that she was going to have a miserable time. Already he could see the mischievous grins of Sibella's friends and wanted nothing more than to wipe the smiles off their face.

"You alright?" Sir Rollen put a hand on the younger man's shoulder and looked at him questioningly. "You look like you want to punch something."

Link checked himself and offered his comrade a shrug.

"They're giving me a headache."

Rollen grinned.

"Don't they always? I swear that the queen goes out of her way to find the stupidest girls in the kingdom to make herself look better."

"Yeah, well she's in for a shock. Zel's got twice the mind that Sibella has."

"Zel?" Rollen looked at him quizzically. "You mean Princess Zelda?"

Link cursed himself for his lapse in concentration and nodded.

"She's very quick on the draw."

Rollen glanced at her and shrugged.

"Dunno about that, but she's certainly nice to look at. It's a damn shame."

Link bit back a quick stab of irritation and shot him a sideways glance.

"Why?"

"One, married. Two, she's the king's daughter." Rollen was counting off qualities on his fingers. "Three, by all accounts a bit of a prude. If it weren't for those things I'd be tempted to take a stab at her."

"I thought you were engaged," Link said coldly.

Rollen grinned broadly.

"Doesn't stop a man from looking does it?"

Link kept his internal disgust hidden and wondered whether it was just his own opinion that found the whole attitude at court reprehensible.

"Want to hear the latest bit of news?" Rollen asked.

"Depends. What's it about?"

"Guess whose name I saw down for the tournament?" He didn't wait for Link to make a guess. "I'll tell you: Derick."

Link found himself glancing over at Zelda for a moment. She looked uncomfortable, surrounded by a bunch of preening girls.

"I heard it from my little sister," Rollen continued. "Apparently the queen's got a sweepstakes going for whoever can seduce him. The princess doesn't have much of a chance."

"Zelda wouldn't do that," Link snapped.

"Oh come on, everyone knows she was in love with him! She threw a massive tantrum when he ditched her."

"Who'd you get that from?" Link struggled to keep him temper in check. "She's never thrown a tantrum in her life."

"My-"

"Sister," Link finished. "Has she ever spoken to the princess?"

"Well uh-"

"No. If I were you I'd pick your sources a little more carefully."

Rollen blinked.

"Gods, what's got you so snappy?"

Link softened for a moment, checking his temper.

"I'm sorry. I just… Princess Zelda's a good friend. I don't like to hear lies about her."

"How'd _you _of all people come to be good friends with _her_?"

"Just lucky I guess," Link replied with an awkward grin.

"You are a constant mystery my friend," Rollen told him cheerfully. "By the way, I'd watch out if I were you."

"Why?"

"Your name's higher up the sweepstakes list than Derick's."

oOo

Zelda was surprised and relieved to find herself summoned from Sibella's parlour to visit her father again later that afternoon. She had been feeling increasingly uncomfortable in the queen's company, feeling as though she was the butt of some joke that she couldn't understand. Link (albeit reluctantly) and the other knights had been sent out to practice their jousting and Zelda felt totally alienated and alone.

The king was sitting up in his bed looking slightly better than he had done the day before. Some colour had returned to his pallid face and his whole face appeared to light up as his daughter came up to his bedside and kissed his hand dutifully.

"You are well?" Harkinian asked, taking in the appearance of his daughter's face.

"That is a question I should be asking you, my lord," Zelda replied. "Is there anything I can get for you?"

"You can bring something to sit on so that you don't have to crouch like that," he replied. "It's not becoming for one who will be queen some day, and you can't be comfortable."

Hiding her surprise, Zelda fetched a stool and placed it by her father's bed. She sat beside him, wondering what she could say next.

"I don't intend to eat you, child! You needn't look at me like I'm a Lizalfos," the king said with a hint of a smile on his face. "Am I really so terrible?"

"I was terrified of you for years," Zelda confessed sheepishly. "You were far more frightening to me than any monster in the fairytales Impa told me."

It was strange, she thought, that even after living through the hell of Ganon's seven nightmare years in power, the frail man in the bed before her still inspired dread and discomfort in her.

Her father looked momentarily crestfallen at her revelation. They sat there in uncomfortable silence for a few moments. Zelda allowed her eyes to travel around the expanse of her father's bedchamber, taking in the rich tapestries and various assembled trinkets that adorned the dark wooden furniture. Unbeknownst to her, Harkinian was sadly watching his daughter's profile as she tried to avoid his attention.

"I am sorry Zelda. It was never my intention to be a tyrant towards you."

"Then why were you?"

She flinched as soon as the words left her mouth and her hands flew unbidden to cover her lips. Her father's eyes, so different yet so similar to her own, fixed upon her with unfathomable depths of pain plainly visible within them.

"Because… because I felt early on that you had stolen something terribly precious from me and I was never going to be able to regain that."

Zelda was silent for a moment.

"My mother?" she said finally.

Harkinian nodded sombrely.

"I was a fool, my daughter, though not through my own accord. The death of my darling Thalia… There is not a man I know who could ever understand how I felt after losing her. It is a terrible burden to have to shoulder- to know true love and happiness and to have it ripped from your grasp before you ever truly knew what you had. I did not overcome my grief easily, perhaps I still have not mastered it. It is my greatest hope that you, my only child, will never have to suffer such a terrible loss as I have had to suffer. Nothing kills the heart so swiftly as to have someone dear to you taken from you before their time."

Zelda sat quietly for a moment, examining her hands.

"Perhaps you should not have closed yourself off to those who might have made your burden easier to bear," she said softly. "That has been your greatest mistake."

They sat in silence, each trying to avoid the other's eye.

"I have made many, _many _mistakes in this life of mine which I hope that someday I will be able to atone for. The foremost being my treatment of you."

She glanced at him from under hooded lids, meeting his gaze and holding it.

"I have wronged you, who I should have protected more dearly than my own life. I wish to ask you something."

The princess nodded her head slowly.

"Are you happy?"

Zelda stiffened and sat up straight on her stool. For a moment her face was a blank canvas, indecipherable to the man who studied it. Unbidden, her thoughts suddenly shifted to Link, standing before her in their garden the night before, vowing to bring some shred of enjoyment back into her otherwise mirthless life.

"I believe," she said slowly, "that someday soon I shall be."

"But you aren't now?"

She met his eyes completely, not keeping anything from her father's penetrating gaze.

"No. I think you know that."

Her father crumpled before her, shrinking back into the pillows like a mouse cowering from a cat.

"How alike we are," he murmured.

He was asleep before Zelda had the chance to probe further.

oOo

Dezauras found himself unable to concentrate.

The table before him was groaning under the weight of the elaborate feast that had been laid out before courtiers and ministers alike while around its edges, the daintier members of the gathering were fluttering like brightly covered feathers on a breeze and gossiping airily amongst themselves. Unwillingly he found his eyes drawn to Zelda across the room, who had shrunk into the background and was watching the proceedings with detachment. A small, satisfied smile spread over his thin lips at the transformation that had taken place over the year. Where was that haughty pride now, that seething righteous disgust that had angered and excited him at the same time? It seemed that she had learnt her place, at last.

He sipped water from his goblet and quietly toasted his victory.

Sibella sauntered past her stepdaughter, smiling sweetly in Dezauras' direction as she caught his eye before she laughed raucously at a joke made by a heavily attentive courtier beside her. Many of the ministers surrounding Dezauras hummed their displeasure while Dezauras himself scowled at the woman's foolish behaviour. How many times did he have to tell her that her exhibitionist tendencies were going to make her a laughing stock?

"Friends, my dear husband is unable to attend our midday meal," Sibella announced, making damn sure that every eye was upon her. "So let us raise a glass to his health and indulge in his stead."

Then, to Dezauras' incredulous disbelief, she summoned the tall blonde ward of the deceased Captain Kal and insisted he sit on her left hand. Unable to escape, the young man performed an awkward bow and was obliged to sit beside her. Sitting within earshot, Dezauras chose to ignore the matronly woman and her gabbling daughter that he was sat between and eavesdropped on Sibella's conversation.

"Sir Link, you appear to be most withdrawn," Sibella was saying smoothly. "It's not terribly becoming."

"I apologise."

Dezauras noted he couldn't have sounded less apologetic if he had tried. Foolish boy.

"Many of my ladies and myself were wondering how your preparations were coming on for the tournament, Sir Link."

"Well enough."

"And have you a dance partner for the ball, or an outfit perhaps?"

He seemed to hesitate for a moment longer than Dezauras thought necessary.

"I have more important things on my mind at the moment."

Sibella seemed to be greatly taken aback by his blunt response and took a moment to regain her composure before slipping back into the same, sugary act she had been playing before.

"But of course. Tell me, you hail from the west, am I correct?"

Before he could reply, an auburn haired woman on his other side laughed and leant over him.

"Is it true, Sir Link, that you are in fact a foundling raised by fairies in the forest?"

The boy took a hurried sip of water, shot a glance across the room at someone and then cleared his throat.

"I was never a foundling, but I did grow up in the Kokiri Forest."

"_Really_?"

The gabbling woman beside Dezauras had leant over to join in the conversation. Raising his eyes to the rafters, Dezauras took the opportunity to slink out of his seat and across the room to where Zelda was seated. With a small degree of satisfaction he saw the princess tense in her seat as he approached before she drew herself stiffly upright and met his gaze head on.

_Go on, _Dezauras willed her, _try and pretend that you're better than me. Just try it._

"It's nice to see you here, my lady," he said in a low voice. "And looking so resplendent at that."

It amused him to see her take a deep breath in through her nose and stare at him with the wariness of a cat watching a dog, waiting for it to pounce.

"I neither ask nor want your compliments, Dezauras."

"You wound me," he replied, leaning in closer. "How does married life suit you? You husband treats you well?"

Zelda's fists balled in her lap.

"_Don't_ try to bait me, I will not humour you."

"Oh, but you already do Zelda." He picked out a spoon from the cutlery before him and idly pushed it in circles on the table cloth. "You never fail to entertain me. Fascinate me, even."

She turned her face to him, smiling at him with her mouth while her eyes were brimming with disgust.

"I don't know what you want with me," she hissed, "and I don't know what you're hoping to achieve but I _will not _let you win. Not again."

"Why, whatever do you mean?" he asked, taking a goblet of wine from a passing server.

"Come, you're supposed to be a clever man, you tell me," Zelda retorted. "I don't like you. I don't trust you. I don't want you anywhere near me, understand?"

"Or else what?" Dezauras taunted. "You'll tell your father? Your darling husband? I didn't think Phineas cared about anything a woman had to say unless it was to praise his skills as a lover."

"Ladies," Sibella announced brightly, "I believe I have a simply marvellous idea!"

Ignoring her, Zelda kept her steely gaze on her tormentor.

"What can you possibly gain from harassing me?"

"You think I'm harassing you? Oh no my dear girl; if I was _harassing_ you, you'd know about it by now."

"We shall add a theme to the joust ball," Sibella said, her voice soaring above the din. "And all shall dress accordingly. The castle shall become a forest, and we the souls that dwell within!"

Amidst the spattering of mixed applause, Zelda rose unnoticed to her feet.

"How _dare_ you threaten me?" she seethed. "You're nothing."

"I'm more than you princess," he retorted swiftly. "You're as damned as your husband's reputation, only now we can add 'barren' and 'shunned' to your own extensive list of titles."

He laughed as he saw the girl quiver with anger before she stormed out, totally ignored by everyone who was in the middle of praising Sibella's idea for the costume ball.

Dezauras was so busy celebrating his victory that he didn't notice Link slipping out of the dining hall after her.

oOo

"Impa, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

Nabooru was hot, tired and irritable. She had had a long, tiring day covering her sister Aveil's lessons- the second in command had broken her ankle and was incapable of seeing to her usual duties. Being the caring older sibling that she was, Nabooru had covered her and been under whelmed by the awestruck bunch of teenagers she had been set to train.

"Bad day?" Impa enquired.

"I've had better." The Gerudo flopped unceremoniously onto a chair and waved a hand to offer her guest the same privilege. "Now, what can I do for you?"

"I need your advice."

Nabooru cracked one eye open and regarded her companion quizzically.

"You never come to me for advice. What on earth is going on with the natural balance these days?"

"I ask because you, despite your tough outer shell, are far more knowledgeable than I am when it comes to dealing with delicate situations."

"By delicate you mean sex, right?"

Impa let out a sigh.

"I know of someone who has been… well. I know a girl who I suspect has been abused by her husband and I have no idea what to do about it."

Nabooru was quiet for a long while before she finally spoke.

"You give her a knife and instruct her on the quickest method to castrate the bastard." The Gerudo's face was completely stony. "Or failing that, I'll head out and kill the son of a whore for her myself after I've gutted her father like a fish for making her go through that."

"_Nabooru…_"

"No Impa, I will not calm down! You didn't live here when Ganondorf was in charge, you didn't see what he did to my people! He used every woman who took his fancy as his own personal plaything and discarded the poor girl afterwards as though she was nothing and no one raised a finger. We couldn't. So many women have been broken because of that monster and if you're telling me that someone is breaking the princess in the same way then I am _not _about to stand idly by and see her disappear into nothing. She's too good for that."

"That's just it Nabooru, I think that it's already begun and I want to get her back." The Sheikah woman's eyes sought the Gerudo's with a beseeching expression. "She's paled. With the king ill she needs to be strong- if he were to die now then Phineas would find a way to bully his way onto the throne and Dezauras would be right there pouring poison into everyone's ears. I can't… Nabooru, I need your help."

"I can't help her," Nabooru said slowly. "She doesn't know me all that well, she won't open up to me the way she does to you. I can't help, but I think you and I both know who can."

"Link?"

Nabooru nodded.

"That's what a hero's for isn't it? Saving the day?"

"Things would get… complicated. An unmarried, handsome courtier constantly paying attention to the king's daughter? People would talk."

"We both know that they're too smart to go about the situation with that little caution."

"Then maybe I'm afraid that things will go too well. I don't want to see those two hurt."

"They're not children anymore Impa."

"No. They're two young people. You remember how it was to be young."

"What are you talking about? I'm _still _young," Nabooru retorted.

"Please don't be flippant with me."

"I remember how _I _was when I was young_er_," the Gerudo acquiesced, "but I wasn't the princess. Hell, I was getting my kicks like the little hellion I was, but that's not to say that Zelda's the same."

"I never suggested that she was. I know Zelda, I know she wouldn't but… I can't say the same for Link."

"I don't think you're giving him enough credit. That kid's probably the only person in Hyrule who could give _you_ a run for your money when it comes to caring about her."

"Feelings can be dangerous, and Link's a young man."

"A young man who's older than most men his age. If you'd drop your protective guard for a moment Impa, you'd realise that he is by far the best person for her to rely on."

"So you're saying that I should throw the two of them together."

"I'm saying you should just wait and let nature take its course. Nature's a craftier matchmaker than I am."

oOo

oOo

Night was beginning to fall when Link finally located Zelda.

After searching all her usual haunts, he had found her hiding out in a small room that seemed to have been forgotten about. It must have been a private room, judging by its lack of showy decoration and the collection of worn, dust covered books that covered an intricately carved but woodworm ravaged bookshelf. Zelda was sat on a moth eaten window seat, half hidden behind the sun-bleached green velvet curtains with her knees drawn up against her chest. Her face was pale and streaked with dust.

"Zelda?"

She tilted her head to acknowledge his entrance but made no other movement.

"I've been looking all over for you, you just disappeared. Did something happen?" When she made no reply, he shut the door behind him and crossed to the window seat. "Are you…ok?"

She murmured unintelligibly.

"I was worried about you," Link continued, sitting down beside her.

"What do people say about me?" Her voice was small and quiet.

"What?"

"People talk around here, I want to know what they're saying about me."

Link put a hand on her shoulder.

"You know I don't pay a blind bit of notice to what anyone around here says-"

"That's not the point Link!" Zelda's head had snapped up suddenly. "There are things being said about me and I can't stand it! The looks, the barbed comments, the laughter following me down every corridor, I'm sick of them!"

She hurled a dilapidated cushion at the wall, which exploded in a cloud of dust and feathers.

"People like that aren't worth the time of day Zelda, you know that."

"I came here to get away from all of this nonsense but now it's worse than ever. I can't win, I can't even exist without someone somewhere throwing their five Rupees into the great joke that my so-called life has become and I can't stomach it anymore."

Link sat in silence beside her, watching her. She was totally withdrawn, and he couldn't stand that look on her face for one moment longer.

"We need to talk, Zelda."

She looked at him in surprise, although she knew full well what he wanted to talk about.

"About what?"

"About you. About everything that's happened to you over the last year, I don't recognise you anymore. I thought that you weren't honest with me when you got back and now I know you weren't, you wouldn't be hiding whatever's bothering you from me. What do I have to do to prove to you that you can trust me?"

"I _do_ trust you," she soothed, dropping her nonchalant façade. "You know I do."

"Then tell me! I want to help you Zelda but I _can't _if you won't have confidence in me!"

She looked scared, and Link knew that he had her on the run.

"Please," he urged. "I can't see you like this, I hate it. Just give me a chance to understand-"

Within seconds he knew that he had chosen the wrong word. Her expression shifted immediately, going from desperation to terror to fury within seconds as she sprang to her feet.

"Understand? You want to _understand _what my life is like? You want to understand that I wake up every morning hating myself and wishing that I was _dead_? You want to hear that I open my legs on a weekly basis for my husband and don't utter a word of complaint and that I've lost every shred of dignity I ever had? You want to know that I turn a deaf ear every time I hear someone else say something horrible about me and laugh good naturedly every time some ignorant, opinionated _bastard _has the gall to call me stupid?" Her hands had clenched into fists as she built up steam. "You can't possibly understand what I'm going through Link! Don't presume that you can make everything better by pretending that you know how I feel and feeding me false securities! It's _never _going to be any better, this is my life now. I don't _feel _anything, I don't care anymore!"

Her face was too pale, her eyes misted over in a way that suggested the impending onslaught of tears.

"Zelda…"

"Aratea is sucking the life out of me, Phineas rips another piece of my soul out of me every time that he… that I… every time that he does there's a part of me _screaming _at me to put a stop to it but I bite my tongue and let him have his way because I don't care anymore, and I should be disgusted that I've let myself become this spineless _thing_ but still I don't care. No one else cares so why in the hell should I?"

"_I _care," Link whispered, but she was past hearing him.

"Sometimes I see myself at night. I see myself as Sheik at night and in those dreams I'm so disgusted with what I've become that I wake up begging that I'm still Sheik, that I'm hiding from Ganondorf and waiting for you to wake up so that I can stop living my life in this nightmare. When did I become so weak Link? _When_?"

"You didn't become weak," he said firmly, grasping her arms and holding her in place to face him. "You have never, ever been weak."

"Then _why_ did I give up? Why didn't I listen to you Link?"

"Sometimes… sometimes it's easier to give in than to fight. I know that." He looked away uneasily, swallowing hard. "I've run from things that I should have stayed and fought for and tried to fill what I'd lost with cheap thrills. That's not a way to live. If you'd have run Zelda, if you'd done what I suggested a year ago, then things wouldn't have been better. You were right."

She was trembling beneath his hands, fighting for what little composure she had left.

"Then this is my destiny, this is what I've become," she whispered. "I'm to be a subservient, spineless, barren appendage to a foolish pretence of a man and I'm to be content being nothing but a hysterical joke for Sibella's playmates and Dezauras."

"No! Gods no Zelda, that's not it at all!" His grip tightened as he stared at her aghast. "I won't let you destroy yourself. We'll find a way out, I swear to you."

There was something in his voice, something so full of concern that it brought a lump to her throat and made her chest constrict.

"Thank you," she murmured.

Link's hands slipped down to take hold of hers, squeezing them lightly through her gloves. She could feel the warmth of his fingers through the silk.

"I care about you princess," he said softly.

"I care about you too," she murmured.

"I just want to see you happy again."

"I want to _be _happy again."

Unbidden a his hand left hers, reaching up to cup her cheek. His gaze softened and Zelda felt her heart lurch erratically in her chest. Her eyes flew up to meet his.

"Then…" His face drew nearer, and Zelda's heart began to hammer so hard against her ribs that she was amazed he couldn't hear it.

Suddenly he checked himself and dropped his hands remorsefully. He averted his eyes and then looked back at her, his face filled with an expression of forced cheerfulness that made Zelda feel surprisingly sad.

"Then we're just going to have to go out there and get you back your happiness, even if it kills us."

Zelda laughed, but it sounded empty to her. Whether or not Link noticed, she couldn't tell.

"And how shall we go about trying to achieve this marvellous feat?"

"By boycotting your stepmother's stupid fancy dress ball," Link suggested. "And then pitching up fashionably late and letting people think scandalous things about us."

"Ah, but are either of our reputations worth that?"

She was forcing herself to go along with it, to try and recreate the girl she had been before he left. She only hoped that she wasn't being too unconvincing.

"Frankly I don't give a damn about what any of those dimwits at court think. From what I hear anyone whose opinion mattered bailed out a long time ago, and the only person whose opinion I actually _do _care about is standing right in front of me so make what you will of it."

"Noble sentiments, master hero," Zelda remarked. "I cannot understand why you persist in hanging around court if you hate it that much."

"Got to be seen to be making an effort," he told her with a wink.

"If you put half as much effort into your dancing as you do your reputation then perhaps you would be held in rather higher esteem."

Link frowned.

"What are you trying to tell me?"

"That you dance like a fish out of water."

His mouth fell agape like the aforementioned analogy.

"Where… did that come from?"

Zelda tossed her head as she shrugged, dislodging a tendril of golden blonde hair in the process which she gingerly tucked behind her ear.

"All of this talk about the ball, it got me thinking about dancing and your lack of ability thereof."

"I've never gotten any complaints!"

She smiled wryly.

"Perhaps to the untrained eye you would pass as acceptable but to one who has spent her entire life being prepped in the art, your talents in that department are sorely lacking."

"Really? Well if you're the expert then why don't you teach me?"

"Maybe I will."

"Good," Link retorted, folding his arms and staring at her with a challenging expression. "Then you will. Tomorrow."

Zelda's teasing appearance slipped into a look of concern.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes. We don't need to go hunting with them, I'll kidnap you and you can teach me-"

"Don't you mean _try _to teach you?"

"…Whatever. You can try to teach me in the forest where there's no one to point and laugh."

"Aren't you worried that I'll point and laugh?"

"Oh I _know_ you will, but I'd prefer if you did it without an audience."

oOo

The following morning saw the Queen of Hyrule in fine spirits, congratulating herself on the excellent theme for her magnificent costumed ball. She was still chattering on as she was dressed for the hunt.

"I'm going to go as Venus, Queen of the Fairies," Sibella said as a trusted maid laced up her rich brown velvet riding habit, slashed at the sleeves to reveal crimson silk. "I'll do my hair up with loads of satin roses and wear gold and scarlet."

"Lovely ma'am," the girl replied dutifully. "You'll look sensational."

"There's a fabulous ruby necklace floating around somewhere that I have to find, I've seen it on my aunt's portrait in the king's room. It will be perfect," Sibella continued, patting her hair and teasing a few tendrils loose. "I might wear it with the seed pearls my father gave me as a wedding gift."

"But my lady," came the shocked reply, "that necklace was given to the late queen by the king. By rights, it belongs to the princess now."

Sibella wheeled furiously and knocked the brush from her hand.

"_By rights_ everything that was Thalia's is mine!" she snapped. "I am queen, not Zelda!"

Furious, she stormed over to the door and flung it wide open.

"Your Majesty I just meant…"

"Get out." Sibella's voice was icy. "I will not be considered inferior to that woman, I am the queen, I will have whatever I want. _Don't_ forget that."

With that, she snatched up her feathered velvet cap and stormed out of the room with her startled ladies-in-waiting scurrying after her.

oOo

"Who on earth puts _feathers _on their bridle when they go hunting?" Zelda asked, eying with suspicion the glossy red and gold bridle that Sibella's grey hunter sported as it was led past her by a groom. "Doesn't she realise she's making an idiot out of herself?"

Link shrugged.

"I don't think she really cares. You should see the hats she wears to match it."

He was rewarded with a giggle from his companion who had to hurriedly bury her face against Pearl's neck to hide her laughter from the prying eyes of Sibella's ladies in waiting.

"You can be such a bitch sometimes, Link."

"Thank you."

Zelda gave his arm a light shove and smiled the first genuine smile he had seen on her in days.

A huntsman rode past on his horse, trailed by the king's pack of shaggy wolfhounds which were speaking with excited barks and dashing all over the yard. Link watched after them, smiling at their high spirits. Zelda didn't miss the smile on his face.

"You're not too disappointed not to be hunting are you?" she asked him.

He shrugged his shoulders and smiled at her instead.

"Honestly Zel, everyone makes so much noise that the huntsmen can't hear what's going on and they scare off half the quarry anyway. Did you know that some idiots even put _bells _on their tack?"

Zelda raised her eyes to the heavens in faux despair.

"Can we please get out of here so that we don't catch it?"

"What?"

"Stupidity."

Link guffawed so loudly that Epona stopped dead in her tracks and stared at her master with a look that could easily have been deemed withering.

"If I'm a bitch," he chuckled after he had recovered a little, "then you are my bitch queen and I swear allegiance to you and only you."

"I thank you for your compliments," Zelda replied, curtseying.

They soon were mounted and making their progress out of the castle grounds ahead of the assembled courtiers who were attempting to go hunting that morning. Epona was happy to be out without the company of Hoarfrost and was prancing eagerly through the town with an equally eager Pearl matching her step for step. Link cast a glance up at the clouds, noticing that there were grey clouds massing threateningly on the horizon. He hoped that they wouldn't catch the rain.

"I believe you and I have unfinished business," Zelda said once they had hit Hyrule Field.

"Oh?"

Zelda nodded and shortened her reins.

"Almost a year to the day you issued me a challenge," she continued. "One that you forced upon me with undue warning or consideration."

"Oh dear, you're using formal language again, should I be worried?" Link asked, picking a stray leaf out of Epona's mane.

"Only that you're about to beaten by a girl!" Zelda laughed before kicking the already excited Pearl into a gallop.

"You little…!"

He and Epona took off after them and the two horses ran hell for leather toward Kokiri Forest, freer than birds on the breeze.

oOo

"I feel like an idiot."

Link's hand was hovering above Zelda's mid-back, and he looked distinctly as though he had just entered close proximity with a Peahat and had no intention of aggravating the creature by advancing.

"Well if you feel like an idiot _now_ then you'll be an even bigger idiot when the ball comes around, won't you?" Zelda replied.

"You know, I think I liked you better when you were shy and retiring."

Zelda rewarded his compliment with a shove.

"Shut up and do as you're told."

He dutifully obeyed the instructions of his teacher and deliberately kept his eyes on his feet as his hand rested upon the small of her back.

Zelda tried to ignore the sudden jolt of heat that shot up her spine as the warmth of Link's hand spread through her body through the fabric of her simple grey dress. She swallowed hard and cleared her throat.

"Shall we try this again then?"

Link nodded grimly and began to dance again while Zelda counted out a rhythm.

"I think I'm getting better at this!" he exclaimed cheerfully, two seconds before he caught the tip of Zelda's shoe.

"Oh!"

Zelda staggered and fell into him, bracing herself by pressing her palms against his chest.

"Damn, I'm sorry! Did I hurt you?"

Zelda stared up at him and felt a blush creeping up into her cheeks as he stared at her with unmitigated concern in his dark blue eyes. She swallowed.

Hard.

"No no, I'm fine. You just caught the tip of my shoe, no toe damage."

Link blew a sigh of relief just as thunder growled somewhere in the distance. The pair glanced up at the heavens, searching for any impending rain.

"Do you think we'll be caught out?" Zelda asked, glad for the distraction.

"Gods I hope not!" Link laughed. "That would be just my luck as I'm starting to make progress."

"Progress?"

"Yeah, I haven't trod on your foot for at least half an hour."

"Well what do you call what you just did?"

"Hey, you said yourself I didn't catch a toe," Link argued.

It was at that moment that a louder crash of thunder shook the roots of every tree around them. The heavens opened and Link burst out laughing.

"Oh well this is just _typical_."

Grabbing Zelda's hand, he pulled her up and dragged her through the rain, darting around saplings and roots until he found a suitably large tree that provided adequate shelter. Zelda was laughing heartily at the exercise, although she stopped as she caught his eyes upon her face. Her hair was soaked and dripping over her sodden dress and her eyes were shining brightly. Link smiled as he plucked a leaf from her hair and flicked it away.

Still laughing, Zelda glanced upward at him and offered him a dazzling smile in thanks and time stood still as their eyes locked and her smile fell away. The air felt heavy between them with the only sound being their breaths as they escaped in short, misty pants.

Link could hear his heart thundering like the hooves of a runaway horse and was amazed Zelda couldn't hear it too as he reached across to touch her cheek. She let him, leaning her cheek instinctively into his touch. Her eyes flew wide open as the hand on her cheek moved to the back of her neck and brought her face closer to his. Their faces were so close, she could feel his breath against her lips. She swallowed, feeling an inexplicable lump rise in her throat.

Link watched her face intently, noticing the way that her eyes flickered back and forth nervously, as though she was trying to find a way to break away. If he had seen doubt or fear in her eyes for one moment he would have drawn back, but all he could see was the way that even behind the excitement he had seen sparkling in those amazingly clear eyes the sadness still remained there, and it was something he wanted to banish from her forever.

It was then that he kissed her, gently brushing his lips against hers and feeling her body stiffen against his as he moved his lips over her mouth. His arm snaked around her midriff, drawing her up against his chest. He chanced a glance at her face and saw her eyes closed and her face totally relaxed. Link smiled and drew back, pecking her lips for good measure as she opened her mouth to protest.

"Why did you stop?" she whispered, eyes still closed.

"Didn't you want me to?" he replied, trying to catch his breath.

She answered his question by kissing him, clumsily trying to repeat his actions as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Initially startled, Link regained control of the situation by parting his lips, trying to coax her to open her mouth under his. She inhaled a sharp breath through her nostrils as his tongue danced against her bottom lip before her own came into play and met his.

They might have stayed like that for hours, but a rumble of thunder overhead made them jump and break apart. Link laughed and raked his fingers through his hair, spraying the air with droplets of water.

"We'd better get you back to the castle before we freeze to death out here, or they'll think I've abducted you."

Zelda nodded breathlessly and slipped her hand into his.

"Link?"

He looked at her quizzically and she rewarded him with a smile so beautiful and beaming that it made him smile back at her.

"Thank you."

He kissed her again, this time on her forehead, and the pair of them made their way back through the forest, hand in hand, neither wanting to speak in case their clumsy words destroyed the bubble of fragile happiness that engulfed them both.

_to be continued…_


	20. Together

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda is still not mine.

A.N: I'm sorry this has taken me so long. It's a load of things really- an increased uni workload, problems with one of my housemates, a car accident (I'm fine, but my car's dead) and my nearly getting a Wii but having to give it up the day before the UK release date due to lack of funds. Also the subject of this chapter was tricky- I wanted to do it right, and it's taken a lot of work before I was happy enough to post it. I was hoping to update last weekend, but I'd just got home for the Christmas holidays and was too busy. But it's _done!_ And all this the day before my copy of Gamecube Twilight Princess arrives in the post.

Vagabond II: The Past

Chapter 20: Together

There was something about the twilight that Zelda had always found to be incredibly soothing. Whether it was the knowledge that another tiring day had drawn to a close or whether the muted pastel tones of the world at half light had a generally calming effect, she did not know. The earth smelt damp following the storm, puddles absorbed the shadows to resemble pools of ink under the light of the rising moon and the early evening air was crisp and still. Hyrule Field stretched out beyond the glowing lights of the town, a strange grey wasteland in the half-light, and Zelda found her gaze drawn beyond the plane to the dark mass of the Kokiri Forest and the secrets that she had left there mere hours earlier. Leaving the forest had been like leaving one world for another, one where the safety blanket of trees and secrecy was torn away left her feeling exposed to the elements, where suddenly everything that had seemed so sweet and simple now became so complicated.

Zelda's thoughts drifted away from the forest and she found her mind, once again, occupied with thoughts of Link.

Everything was so awkward now, they had hardly known what to say to each other as they had said goodbye. Link had kissed her on the cheek, she had blushed and both had muttered something about seeing each other the next day. What was she going to say to him? Did he expect things to be different between them now? Would he… would he expect her to…? No, Link would never pressure her into anything else like that. It was just one kiss, probably a one off. But still…

The way that he had held her around the waist with the heat from his body banishing all traces of the cold from the rain; just thinking about it made the hairs on the back of neck stand up. For just a moment, Zelda's fingers flew to her lips and brushed across the surface of them, checking to see if they felt as hot as she imagined them to. They still felt the same. She thought it strange.

_How can everything seem the same when so much has changed? _

She had never been kissed before, not like that. Never on the mouth. Phineas…

She did not want to think about Phineas, not now. Part of her, a tiny little shred of conscience, wanted her to feel guilty but everything else argued that there was nothing there to feel guilty about. It was only a kiss from a friend.

_Your **first **kiss. From your **best** friend. _

"Are you still with me, daughter?"

Her father's voice drew the princess back from her thoughts. The room was warm, heated by a blazing fire in the hearth. The king was looking a great deal better, watching his daughter thoughtfully from the bed.

"I'm sorry my lord, my thoughts were elsewhere."

"With your husband?"

"No."

"I see."

Zelda did not know whether his voice carried disapproval. Her father was an enigma to her; sometimes he remained the foreign, untouchable king who had reduced her to a trembling wreck before him and then other times he was a stranger, whose entire being exuded such an air of sadness and loneliness that Zelda felt her heart go out to him in sympathy.

"You look like your mother when you look that way."

Zelda started and stared at him, meeting his blue eyes with an expression of surprise.

"I do?"

"Very much."

"No-one ever compares me to her, sometimes I wish that they did. She's always been a part of my life yet I know nothing about her."

"She was very like you," Harkinian said softly, gesturing for her to take her place beside his bed. "Very graceful and dignified, and enigmatic too. Many people were wary of her because they found her too difficult to read. She liked to keep people on their toes. She loved to learn, never stopped. A little like you, if Mentes is to be believed."

Zelda looked up, startled.

"He sai-"

"Oh come now," her father said with a chuckle, "I'm hardly going to berate you for seeking knowledge. I only wish I had seen that quality in you myself. I would have enjoyed learning with you, perhaps even helping you."

"You always seemed to hate the idea of me becoming anything other than a perfect little lady," Zelda said, unable to keep a tinge of bitterness from her tone. "Learning philosophy and scripture was not appropriate behaviour for a princess."

The king sighed.

"No, perhaps not. But you are no mere princess, you are my heir. I am relieved to know that you are a wise woman, it gives a man peace of mind to know that when he departs this world he will be leaving his affairs to a capable successor."

Zelda smiled and took her father's hand.

"With all due respect Your Majesty, you're not dead yet."

"I didn't want you to be like her."

Zelda frowned.

"Like my mother?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Her father brought his hand up to her face and cupped her cheek.

"I saw her in everything you did when you were a child, even your laugh. I couldn't bear to be reminded of what I had lost. I didn't realise that you had that same thirst for knowledge, yet even if I had, I would have obstinately refused to have let you do anything about it. At first you broke my heart because you were not enough like your mother, but now I think that I was wrong. You _are_ like her."

For the first time in her life, Zelda felt as though she was seeing her real father and not the forbidding character he had put up to shield himself from the outside world. He was flesh and blood, fallible and longing for something more to the life that he had ended up living, and she understood him.

There was a knock on the door before she could open her mouth to respond.

"Enter," Harkinian called.

An unfamiliar minister garbed in official robes tentatively crossed the threshold into the room, bowing low at the king. Zelda straightened in her seat, trying to watch what was happening without appearing to.

"Your Majesty, I hope I find you in improved health."

Zelda sensed her father's discomfort and rose from her seat.

"My father left instructions _not _to be disturbed, minister."

The man stared at her, her presence taking him by surprise.

"Forgive me Your Highness, I did not mean to intrude. I humbly crave His Majesty's council."

King Harkinian shifted in his bed.

"Anything you have to say to me can be said in front of my daughter."

"But sire-"

"You will show respect to my heir and my wishes."

The king's voice, despite being weaker than usual, still exuded power and authority. The minister shifted awkwardly and bowed at the princess uneasily.

"Your Majesty, I do not wish to concern you, but you may remember that there was a very important meeting of the regional stewards and ministers scheduled for tomorrow and…"

"You are wondering whether to reschedule it in light of my illness?"

"Yes, sire."

Zelda watched her father consider his options. She was acutely aware of how tired he looked and was about to express her concern when he looked at her and smiled.

"The meeting shall be held as planned, Minister Olwen. Princess Zelda, my daughter, shall attend in my stead."

Zelda met his eyes sharply, disbelief painted all over her face.

"Your Majesty, I must pro-"

"You will not protest. You will find my daughter more than proficient of handling herself and the situation with the utmost skill and capability. You are dismissed to prepare for the events of tomorrow."

"But sire!"

"You are _dismissed,_ Olwen."

As soon as the door had closed, a still staggered Zelda heard her father chuckling to himself and turned to stare at him quizzically.

"Why did you do that, Father? Why me?"

Harkinian coughed and smiled benevolently.

"Because you are my daughter, Zelda, and I want all the fools in the world to know just how wise you really are. There is no other I would trust to act on my behalf more than you."

As he spoke, the king's eyelids began to droop and he seemed to be fading into sleep before her eyes. Zelda smiled and went to his side to plant a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you, Papa."

oOo

"I was wonderin' where you had got to," Talon said as a very tired Link rode Epona into Lon Lon Ranch. "We were beginning to forget what you looked like."

Link smiled sheepishly.

"I'm sorry Talon, things have been pretty hectic at court lately."

"I hope yer not wearing y'self too thin, you look terrible."

"I didn't get much sleep last night."

"Oh?" The rancher put down his pitchfork. "Should I be worried?"

"No," Link replied, before stifling a yawn. "I was mulling a few things over in my head until late. Somehow I can't seem to clear it."

He hadn't slept a wink the night before. Every time he closed his eyes, his head was filled with different emotions jostling for superiority. So far, apprehension and excitement were battling it out for first place, with fear trying to get a look in at the same time.

_Well, so much for trying to be a good friend to her. No, you have to go and kiss her, that was subtle. _

Talon was watching him quizzically.

"Link I know you're a grown man now and I'm just Malon's Pop t' you, but if you ever need a friendly ear…"

"Thanks Talon," Link replied, smiling warmly at the older man. "I appreciate that. Where's Mally?"

"I decided to give her a lie in, she's got a bit of a sniffle and she had a bit of a bad head last night. I don' want her getting' sick. Now are you goin' to take that bad tempered horse o' yours out to practice today or is he goin' to break down the stable door?"

"He's been that badly behaved?"

"Not wi' Mally he hasn't, that girl could charm a Lizalfos."

"I'm sorry to dump him on you like this Talon, it's just Epona cannot _stand _him and I don't want them taking pieces out of each other."

"Sure, sure, happy t' help." Talon waved a hand dismissively in Link's direction. "Now go take that beast out before he breaks the door down."

Link's mind barely processed his practice session that morning. Hoarfrost charged up and down the arena like the old pro that he was, doing everything automatically while his master sat in his saddle going through the motions. All the while, he kept asking himself the same question that had kept him up all night.

_What the hell do I think I'm doing? _

oOo

"Dayne will you please pick up those marbles before someone breaks their neck on them! How many more times do I have to ask you?"

Nabooru watched as the boy grudgingly went to do as he was ordered, muttering under his breath as he did. She cracked a wry smile in the direction of the lady of the house and arched an eyebrow.

"Ah Impa, it amuses me to see you in such a blissfully domestic setting. To think that you were once a feared and heartless warrior who could strike terror into the heart of even the most battle hardened Gerudo."

Impa folded her arms and glared at the Gerudo.

"Just because I'm playing a more maternal role these days doesn't mean I can't still take you and at least a dozen of your warriors down screaming."

"Only if they were little girls, Sheikah."

In the corner, Dayne snorted as he tried to keep his giggles in check.

"Dayne," Impa said suddenly.

"Yes Aunt Impa?" The boy glanced at her worriedly.

"Why don't you head out and play for a while. I have things I need to talk about with Nabooru."

"That's not fair, you always kick me out when you start talking about good stuff."

"That's because the 'good stuff' as you put it is none of your business, and it's about things that you're too young to understand." She threw a red rupee at him. "Now off you go, and while you're out why don't you buy yourself some honey cakes? I hear the baker in Castle Town usually has hot batch out of the oven right about now."

The boy grinned and ran out of the house before she could change his mind.

"Ah bribery, is there anything better for controlling small children?" Nabooru commented.

Impa sighed and sat herself down opposite her companion.

"I don't know where he gets it from, his mother was the sweetest woman imaginable and my brother was never like this. Zelda never gave me this sort of trouble."

"He reminds me a lot of Link."

It was Impa's turn to snort.

"He _has _been spending a lot of time with him," she said, drumming her fingers against the table top. "At least he was until Zelda got back."

"So that explains why I've not seen him at the Fortress lately. What did I tell you about nature, Impa? Never fails." She looked momentarily smug. "Need me to provide them with somewhere private to go to?"

"Now wait a minute, I think you're getting ahead of yourself. They've been spending time together, but it's just as friends. She'd tell me if anything had changed about their relationship."

"Impa, you're her mother figure. You'd be one of the last people she'd tell."

The Sheikah woman looked affronted.

"We have no secrets from each other."

"Really? Then you've told her all about your past lovers?"

When Impa didn't answer, Nabooru had her answer.

"Now let's look at Zelda. She's a married woman, she's always done what's expected of her and she wouldn't want anyone to think she was acting against type. She would try to hide it."

"I _would_ know."

Nabooru shrugged.

"Well keep an eye on her, and I'll keep an eye on the kid if you want. I can read a man like a book. One way or another, we'll find out, even if they don't tell us with words."

Impa looked uneasy.

"I still think this is a very bad idea…"

"Nonsense. It's like riding. If you have one bad experience with one horse and lose confidence, the best thing to do is to get straight back on another one. A younger, prettier one."

Her comments were rewarded with a rare smile from the older woman.

"You are brazen beyond belief, Nabooru."

Nabooru smiled triumphantly and tipped her chair back on its back legs, propping her feet up on the table to keep herself from overbalancing.

"Thank you. It takes years of practice to be this good."

oOo

Link had arrived early in the afternoon and performed a double take the moment he saw the princess. When he looked again, he realised that his eyes had not been playing tricks on him.

Zelda was dressed in the exact same outfit she had been wearing when she had revealed herself to him in the Temple of Time, complete with the gold ornaments and ruby studded tiara. The only difference to her apparel was the way she was wearing her hair; it was plaited and coiled into a bun at the nape of her neck. He wished she had left it down.

"Link, you won't believe what's happened."

Zelda's eyes were sparkling with excitement whilst her whole being exuded confidence.

"What's happened?"

"I'm acting on my father's behalf this afternoon. I'm actually attending a meeting on my own where everyone's been ordered to listen to me and not dismiss me."

"That's fantastic!" Checking they were alone, Link pulled her into a side room and shut the door before her scooped her into a hug.

Zelda's cheeks were flushed when he pulled back and she found herself unable to meet his eyes. Link took a moment to watch her unobserved and let his gaze travel to her lips. All he wanted to do was kiss them again.

The sound of Zelda clearing her throat brought him back to earth.

"I, um, wanted to talk to you, actually. About yesterday."

"I knew you would."

She smiled and smoothed a non-existent wrinkle from her skirt.

"What exactly do we do now?"

Link shrugged.

"All I know is that… I don't regret what happened yesterday. Do you?"

"Yes! No! I don't know…" Zelda was pacing, looking worried. "People will talk."

"No they won't," he said, taking her hands. "It's not like we're obvious."

The princess took a deep breath and met his eyes.

"What are we now, Link? What's going to happen?"

"I don't know." He couldn't help brushing a stray wisp of hair away from her face, letting his fingers brush against the curve of her cheek for longer than necessary. "Let's just wing it and see."

Zelda smiled.

"Do you ever plan _anything_?"

"Nope. Spontaneity's my big thing, didn't you know that?"

Zelda bit back her laugh by catching her lip with her teeth. She was so coy, Link noticed, he'd never known her to be so shy around him.

_Well you did cross a line yesterday,_ he reminded himself. _This is new ground for both of you. _

He was brought out of his thoughts by Zelda's hand slipping into his.

"You look a million miles away."

"Sorry. I was just thinking about what you said." He gave her hand a squeeze. "I don't want to mess up."

"Like you said, let's just wing it."

She tiptoed up and kissed his cheek, but Link turned and caught her face in his hands and kissed her. She murmured against his lips and tentatively brought her hands up to rest against his chest. She opened her mouth as his tongue sought entrance against her lips and sighed as the kiss deepened.

"We're going to need to find excuses to be alone together," she sighed when she was allowed to catch her breath.

"I have no problem with that," Link replied, kissing her forehead. "I like being alone with you."

He was beginning to find the taste of her lips addictive.

Zelda smiled.

"I must go, I have a meeting to get ready for. I still can't believe that my father's actually asked me to stand in for him!"

Disappointed to have got so little time with her, Link nodded, but he was pleased to see her looking so happy for a change.

"I'm so happy for you. How's he doing?"

"Improving," she replied. "It's so strange, the doctors can't find anything wrong with him yet he's exhausted and seems as though he's trying to make peace with me, as though he was dying. He just seems so old and frail, I can't understand it."

"Sometimes it just happens that way," Link said soothingly. "It did with Kal anyway, but he at least knew what was wrong."

Zelda smiled sadly as she caught the note of sadness in his voice and took his hand in hers again.

"I am sorry about Kal. He was a very good man. My father always spoke so highly of him."

"One of the best," Link agreed.

Zelda's hand on his cheek brought him back from the brink of melancholy.

"Come to see my father with me later," she suggested gently. "I think he would like that."

"What would I say?" Link's face was bewildered. "I've barely said five words to him."

"Tell him about the joust or something like that. You impressed him last year."

"Maybe I will, but I'd really like to spend more time with you. Alone."

Zelda smiled shyly.

"What are you suggesting we do?"

"I don't know," Link shrugged. "Maybe some more of this…"

He took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply until he felt her cheeks burning against his palms. Her eyes were still closed when he drew back, reminding him of the way she had looked after their first kiss.

_Was that only yesterday? _

"Try and get away after the meeting's over," he suggested. "Take the Ocarina and warp to the Forest Temple, I'll be waiting for you there."

"I'll try," she replied. "I don't know how long this will take, and I bet certain people will want to try and rattle me afterwards."

"Like our favourite dark-haired snake?"

"The very same."

"Take care of yourself, OK? Don't let anything he might say upset you. You're better than all of them Zelda, remember that."

"You worry too much."

"Only because I care." He took her hand and kissed it. "That's just the kind of nice guy I am."

Zelda laughed and half-heartedly pushed him away.

"Whatever you say, Link."

He slipped the Ocarina of Time into her hand and smiled.

"I'm serious. Don't let them get to you."

"Maybe I won't if you give me another kiss," Zelda suggested slyly.

Link beamed.

"Of course."

He leant towards her mouth, but just as Zelda closed her eyes his course deviated and he planted a kiss on her cheek. She opened her eyes and pouted.

"That was just cruel."

"Nah, that wasn't cruel. That was you not specifying _where _you wanted the kiss."

He laughed at her expression and pacified her with a quick peck on the lips.

"I'll see you later. Good luck!"

With that, he snuck out of the room, blowing her a kiss as he left. Zelda beamed and looked at the Ocarina of Time in her hand, and then suddenly felt herself grow cold.

_When peace returns to Hyrule…It will be time for us to say goodbye… _

She shivered and composed herself, unsure why she felt so unsettled.

oOo

The atmosphere in the council chambers was stifling.

Dezauras heard the low rumble of voices that grew progressively louder as Princess Zelda made her way to her father's seat at the head of the table, carrying herself with every shred of poise and dignity she had within her. She stood before them all to deliver her address; her face was set in an expression of neutrality, but Dezauras had never seen such steely determination behind anyone's eyes.

"My Lords," she began with a loud, steady voice. "On behalf of my father the king I thank you all for your attendance today. Considering the circumstances, we are both extremely grateful for your continued support."

"Your Grace, we thank you for your hospitality," the speaker began, "but please take no offence when we say that we are not entirely comfortable with the present situation."

"I am afraid I cannot take your comment without offence, sir," Zelda replied with surprising grace. "I am well aware that many of you consider my appearance here today unnatural and outrageous, but I implore you to please grant me the courtesy to listen to me and ignore the supposed weakness of my sex. I know that you would prefer for a man to be present, but given the circumstances I am sure you would prefer my company over my husband's."

There was an uneasy titter of laughter. The princess graced them with a warm, benevolent smile and took her seat, followed by the rest of the ministry.

"Let us begin with addressing the situation with His Majesty," one of the more senior ministers began. "I have had a report from the Royal Physician who has given me the welcome news that our liege appears to be making steady progress towards a full recovery."

A chorus of cheers went up from around the room, to which Dezauras half-heartedly added his voice. He was aware of Zelda's eyes on him and stared straight back, expecting her turn away. Instead, she met his gaze calmly and cleared her throat.

"I presume that you have drawn my attention to you for a reason, Lord Dezauras," she said coolly, bringing the attention of everyone else to him. "Have you a desire to address the assembly?"

Dezauras fought to keep the scowl from his face and rose to his feet.

"Given the king's frailty, I would like to propose a motion to push for a regent to be instated. If this illness is to be ongoing, then I think the entire kingdom would be in better standing with someone able bodied making the decisions."

There were angry murmurs from one half of the room while noises of agreement came from the other. Zelda cleared her throat and raised her hand for silence.

"I would say, Lord Dezauras, that your fears are premature and unfounded. If you took the time to speak with my father before making these accusations then you would realise that he is in perfectly sound mind. It is only his body that is showing signs of failing, not his intellect, and even so it cannot be assumed that this is going to be a lasting ailment."

"Here here!"

Dezauras was staggered to hear voices raised in approval of her words. As the speaker brought a new matter to the floor, he kept his eyes glued to the strong, silent figure who sat in the king's place and felt a new wave of resentment stir within him.

Zelda was _not _supposed to be a viable heir, and there she was behaving just that way.

And carrying it off.

oOo

"Ouch!"

Sibella hissed as her servant accidentally scratched the queen's back with a pin. Drawing herself up stiffly, she shot a warning glare at the girl before picking up conversation with her ladies in waiting.

"I mean really, why on earth would he ask _her _to act on his behalf? I am the queen, shouldn't it be me?"

"But my lady, would you really have wanted to be there? It's just a bunch of old men discussing politics…"

Sibella pouted and shrugged her shoulders, much to the irritation of the poor servant pinning the queen's ball-gown.

"It's not that I _wanted _to be there, but it's the fact that I wasn't asked. Why is my husband showing Zelda favouritism _now_?"

"Well she _is_ his daughter, ma'am, and he _is_ sick. Perhaps he's just trying to get her used to political life if she has to be queen?"

The chattering of Sibella's ladies in waiting ceased as the queen shot a venomous look at the woman who had spoken.

"She has a husband to do all of that for her! It is none of her damn business what goes on in this kingdom anymore, she's an Aratean now."

The woman cringed.

"I am sorry my lady."

"So you should be. Think before you speak, Lady Astrid."

Lady Astrid returned to her sewing, blushing furiously under the disapproving glares of Sibella's closest ladies. It was no wonder to her that the king had not asked his wife to go, she had been so moody since the princess had arrived that it was likely she would embarrass him with her short temper. Astrid knew she was in the minority, but she wasn't the only one of Sibella's ladies who were becoming increasingly irritated by the queen's behaviour.

Nor was she the only one privately celebrating that the princess seemed to be making a steady climb in popularity in court.

oOo

No one had seen her escape.

The thrill of her victory over Dezauras' attempts to keep her a virtual prisoner left her feeling light-headed and as untouchable as Ganon must have felt after seizing the Triforce.

_Wait a minute girl, Ganondorf?! _

The thought had her giggling almost uncontrollably into her hands and continued to tickle her as she entered the forest under cover of the late evening sunlight. With a lightness in her steps she hadn't thought herself capable of, she stole into the Forest Temple and prepared to wait.

"You're here?"

Link's voice was incredulous when he made his way into the temple minutes later. That failed to stop him from kissing her eagerly. She smirked and kissed him back.

"You sound shocked," she said when they parted.

"I'm… well, maybe I am. Call me crazy but I didn't think you'd be let out."

"Apparently I'm tired and have retired to bed early." The smirk on Zelda's face was almost evil in its glee. "And under no circumstances am I to be disturbed."

Link's smile dwarfed hers in its delight.

"You devious cow."

"Thank you, I try," she replied cheerfully, hopping onto a log and stretching her arms out wide. "You have no idea how elated I'm feeling right now."

"The meeting went well then?"

"Gods, you should have seen the looks on their faces Link! It was the most amazing feeling, they were totally staggered that I could string a sentence together, let alone say anything that was actually productive. Dezauras looked like he was going to explode."

"I would have paid good money to see that. What did you say to him?"

"I told him that if he spent less time concentrating on the affairs of others and more time on his own then perhaps he might be able to contribute something of use to the conversation."

"_Zelda…_" Link's voice held a note of disapproval.

"He was asking for it," she retorted. "The man all but called my father a senile fool. He may be many things, but my father is certainly not a fool."

"I have proved to my father's most trusted ministers that I am not as easy to dismiss as they thought, and in standing up for my principles I've earned the respect of those that matter."

"But you've probably pissed off Dezauras."

The princess shrugged and smiled.

"He doesn't scare me. Anything he has to say against me can be taken up with my father, and I don't think Dezauras is the sort of person to complain, but I will have to watch him."

She didn't notice how intently Link was watching her or how his smile had turned thoughtful as he did so. Suddenly she turned to face him, her face alive with happiness and excitement.

"I don't want to talk about him now. Where are we going? Isn't there some sort of festival in Gerudo Valley this week?"

"We can go to that if you want."

"You don't sound particularly thrilled by the idea. Don't you think it would be fun?"

"They have a tendency to get drunk at these things Zel."

"Excellent! And that's a problem because…?"

Link smirked uneasily.

"I'm thinking that I'll get jumped, being the token male and all."

Zelda's cheeks coloured instantly while her inner voice seemed to growl possessively in protest at the prospect of another woman laying her hands on her... what _was _Link to her, anyway?

"Oh. You _don't_ want to get jumped?"

_Only if _you're_ doing the jumping. _

Link slapped himself mentally. That was not a thought he ever dreamed he would be entertaining, but he couldn't help it. She looked much happier than he had seen her in days. Her expression was still guarded and he sensed that she still wasn't completely at ease being out in the open and he was determined to restore some of that confidence in herself that she had once held.

"I think that it would be inappropriate with you being around."

Zelda inwardly celebrated while she outwardly remained cool.

"And you make a habit to be jumped by Gerudo do you?"

"Not recently," he replied. "How about you?"

She laughed nervously.

"This conversation has taken a turn towards the surreal. Anyway, no-one's ever going to jump on me. If my husband ever jumped he'd break his kneecaps as soon as he landed."

Link laughed and casually leant against the log Zelda had now sat down on.

"Ask me nicely and I'll pounce on you."

Zelda met his gaze abruptly, her expression unreadable.

"Would you?"

Link's gaze never faltered.

"Without hesitation."

He reached up for her hands and pulled her down beside him. Zelda leant in for a kiss and arched into his body as he pulled her in closer. Each kiss grew hungrier, more demanding, when everything changed as Zelda experimentally sucked the flesh on Link's throat as she kissed him. The contact sent shivers down both of their spines and Link responded instantly, crushing her against him as his hands explored her body.

As soon as his hand brushed the underside of her breast, Zelda found herself frozen to the spot.

_No._

Link was reeling from the touch and taste of her that he missed the sudden change in her and began to trail his kisses down her cheek as his hands gripped her hips and squeezed lightly.

"-o." Zelda's voice sounded small and faraway.

"Mmm?"

"_No!_" Her voice was shrill and terrified as she shoved him forcefully away from her. "No Link please!"

Link stared at her in fright; her face was completely pale. He immediately drew back.

"I'm sorry!" he gasped. "Zelda, what did I do?"

She was trembling and suddenly sunk to her knees with her arms wrapped around her. She took several shaky, gasping breaths before bursting into tears. Link forced himself to calm his breathing and went to her, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Zelda? Are you-?"

"I can't do it, I can't! I…" She shivered and fell against him. "Please, don't make me."

"I won't ever make you do anything you don't want."

"It's just that… when you touched me like that it all came back and I…" She swallowed and looked at him for a moment, her eyes flitting back and forth. "When he touches me there, it hurts, and then he keeps on and-"

"What do you mean? He _hurts _you?" Zelda tried to bury her face into his shoulder but he held her back, staring at her in horrified disbelief. "He's raped you, hasn't he?"

"No, you can't call it that. I let him- I allow it to happen. Because he is my husband and I must. It's just that-"

"You don't _have _to do anything," Link snapped. "That gutless, bloated whoreson! I swear if I ever lay my hands on him I'll rip him to pieces and feed him to the Guay."

"He gets angry with me," Zelda murmured. "More and more every month that passes. It's been nearly a year and I'm still showing no signs of having a baby; everyone says there's something wrong with me, I can hear them gossiping about me at court and Phineas points it out every time he has company and-"

"Don't listen to anything that bastard has to say. Have you ever stopped to think that it might not be_ your_ fault?"

"How can it not be?" Zelda's eyes met his, bottomless in their misery. "The man's got three children by his mistress, two of which are male I hasten to add. It's not him."

"Well I refuse to believe that. There's nothing wrong with you. You know it."

She looked at him appreciatively and happily accepted the hug he offered. When he moved to kiss her cheek, she froze up and Link found himself backing away.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so confused. I don't think we should see each other like this, it's not fair."

"_What_? Why?"

She looked at him thoughtfully.

"You're making me feel things that scare me. I love being with you, you know I do, but I really don't know what to do about this. Please, just give me a few days Link, I need to get my head around it."

He sat back on his haunches, staring at the ground for a moment as he took a few breaths.

"If that's what you think you need, then I'll keep my distance. I don't want to make things worse for you."

"No, it's not that!" She touched his hand gently. "You know you're making things better for me than they have been in a long time, but… I just don't know what we're going to do about it."

"Neither do I, but-"

"I know, spontaneity's your thing." She smiled at him. "We both need to work out what we want from each other."

"I just want to be with you, but if you need space then I'll give it to you."

He got to his feet and looked at her, trying desperately hard not to betray his feelings with his eyes.

"I'll give you all the time in the world."

oOo

Mentes had been sitting in the king's room when Harkinian had brought the subject up.

"Zelda will be allowed to rule on her own, won't she?"

"Why do you ask that, Your Majesty?"

"I don't want her husband to be king. If needs be he can live in Hyrule as her consort but he will never be king. That is very important."

"But sire, if you are this strongly opposed to him then why did you choose him for her husband?"

"Truly old friend, I cannot think why, but I am coming to believe that I made a very grave mistake."

The old minister sighed.

"I am very glad to hear you say that. If it had been in my place, I could have told you that last year."

"Then why didn't you?"

"I don't think you realise how stubborn you are, my lord. Your mind was made up, no-one could change it."

"What?"

"I believe that the Lady Nabooru and Lord Darunia both tried to dissuade you, but you would have none of it."

"They did?" Harkinian's brow was furrowed and his eyes confused. "I have no recollection of it. Why can't I remember?"

Mentes looked at him in amazement.

"You don't remember?"

"All I remember was someone telling me that Phineas was the ideal choice… but even now I can't remember who that was."

Mentes was about to press further when there was a tentative knock on the door and Zelda appeared in the doorway. He noticed the way the king's face lit up as she crossed to the bed to join them, and was delighted by the change in the girl's appearance. She was carrying herself with confidence and dignity, much like the girl he remembered before she had been spirited away to Aratea for her wedding. She smiled at both the men and dropped a curtsey in the older man's direction.

"Master Mentes, how wonderful to see you, I was worried when you weren't at the meeting today."

"I had one or two errands that demanded attention, but I hear you stole the show. You are all that my colleagues can talk about."

Zelda smiled shyly and thanked him.

"How was your walk?" Harkinian asked.

"It was fine," she replied. "It's beginning to get quite cold, I hope the weather keeps for the tournament."

"Ah yes, that reminds me. Go to that chest over there, by the window, and take out the package in there."

Zelda did as she was told and brought out a long, flat parcel wrapped in cream calico and tied with tailor's string.

"What is it?"

"Something that's been waiting in that trunk for far too long. Your mother loved it, and she never had a chance to use it. I want you to take it away and do what you want with it."

Zelda looked at him, puzzled.

"But father, what-?"

"You'll see. Just be sure to make me proud, sweetheart."

oOo

"Damn it."

Link rolled over in his bed, letting his arm fall with a dull thud against the mattress. It was the third night in a row that he had been unable to sleep and he knew exactly who was the cause of his insomnia. He was beginning to regret agreeing to a cooling off period, because not being with her made him think of her more and conjured up more things for him to worry about. He had thrown himself into preparations for the tournament in an attempt to get his mind off her and it was doing exactly the opposite.

He felt like someone had cut his arm off. Trying desperately hard to concentrate on other things, he had gone to the ranch to catch up with Malon and found the poor girl shut up in her room with the flu. She had been on the verge of tears as she'd told him she didn't think she'd be well enough to accompany him to the ball. They had agreed to go together weeks before, and Link had completely forgotten about it with Zelda's return. He felt guilty that a large part of him was privately relieved to be going on his own; he really wanted to devote his attention to Zelda.

Link had no idea exactly how Zelda had managed to invade every inch of his mind, but somehow she was all that he could think about. Tiny, insignificant things would make him think about her, and every time he saw a blonde haired woman he had to hold himself back from calling out to her.

_"Have you got a thing for blondes in general or just one in particular? One you can't have." _

Link sighed.

"Kal, you wily old bastard, you were right. So what am I supposed to do now?"

_"There is no substitute Link, don't look for it. Either take what you want or move on if you can't have it. Don't waste your life chasing after the impossible." _

He shook his head and pulled his blankets over his head.

"How am I supposed to take what I want when what I want doesn't know what she wants?" he asked no-one in particular, punching his pillow. "I must be completely out of my mind."

oOo

"Nabooru, I need a favour."

"Name it and I will do all that is in my power to make it so, my lady."

Zelda paused momentarily before she caught the mischievous gleam in the older woman's eye and grinned.

"I need to use your tailor."

Whatever Nabooru had been expecting, it hadn't been that.

"Come again?"

"Your tailor. I need a new dress."

"I see. When for?"

"The tourney ball. You must have heard about this costume theme that my stepmother has come up with, and I don't have anything that will work."

Nabooru quirked an eyebrow in her direction, specifying that she should elaborate.

"Sibella's dress," Zelda began hesitantly, "will be making a statement, one that my dress can't compete with. I need to counteract her."

"I think I like where you're coming from princess. Do I detect a notion of 'beat the silly bitch at her own game?'"

Zelda smiled in a manner that Nabooru liked to think had gained its inspiration from herself.

"Precisely."

The princess placed the package she held on the table, unwrapping the paper that surrounded it. Lengths of pale green silk lay folded there, tied in tailor's ribbon.

"Before my mother died, she bought this to make a dress. She had wanted to make something for my naming ceremony but she died before anything could be done with it. My father has kept it ever since, but now… His exact words were 'make me proud.'"

Nabooru was fingering the silk appreciatively.

"Oh we could _definitely_ do something with this princess, how much of a statement do you want to make?"

"A big one." Zelda's smile was mischievous. "Sibella will probably be _way _over the top."

"Of course. I know just the girl for the job, have no fear. She's a genius. By the time she's done with this silk, there won't be a single man in that ballroom who won't be entertaining impure thoughts about you."

Zelda stiffened and she shifted uncomfortably.

"I don't want to be lusted over."

"Why not? Princess, you are an incredibly beautiful young woman, it's your goddess given right to be the object of sexual fantasies."

Nabooru watched as the silent princess awkwardly examined a large, ornate vase on her desk. Her expression was guarded.

"Why do so many people put so much emphasis on carnal relations? They're horrible."

Nabooru's heart went out to the younger girl and she sighed.

"You know Princess, not all men are the same. What can feel like murder with some men can feel indescribably wonderful with others."

Zelda looked up at the Gerudo woman, surprised that she had decided to broach this topic of conversation.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean some men, like your husband, can be total and utter bastards while others are sweeter than honey and twice as nice."

She smiled in a manner that Zelda considered to be totally lecherous as she sifted through the chest full of fabric.

"I don't think I like where you're going with this Nabooru."

"Going? I'm not going anywhere," she laughed. "Oh, on a completely different tangent, I saw Link today."

She watched the younger girl freeze in her seat and rewarded herself with a mental cheer and a discreet grin.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. He seemed upset. That boy can really fight when he's riled up about something. Not that he can't when he's his usual charming self, but when he gets a bee in that cute little green bonnet of his, he's like a force of nature."

Zelda's shoulders dropped slightly, a move that did not go unnoticed by the Gerudo woman.

"He was upset?"

"Kind of. More distracted than upset."

"I see."

Fed up with hitting brick wall in the conversation, Nabooru shrugged and decided to try a different tack.

"You seem a little distracted yourself. Have you considered taking up a new hobby? Like swordplay?"

Zelda blinked and stared at her as though she had suddenly gone mad.

"I'm sorry?"

"You should, you know. Take up a little swordplay Princess, it'll help you relax."

"Swordplay?"

"Yes. _Swordplay. _I know it can be messy and awkward at first and nice girls aren't supposed to enjoy it, but you really should just relax and try it for fun. It's all about finding the right weapon. Once you've got that, you can really get to grips with it and start to enjoy yourself."

"I somehow think we're not talking exclusively about stabbing things with a pointy object," Zelda said tersely.

"Depends how you're looking at it."

"_Thank you_ Nabooru, but I don't think I'll be taking up… recreational swordplay anytime soon."

"Well now, that's a shame. Learning how to fight with a friend can be a lot of fun. My first sparring partners were terrible, but all it takes is the right one and it'll change your entire perspective on things."

"Nabooru, even if I were to look for a _sparring partner _I wouldn't be able to do anything about it. I don't _want_ to, even if I could."

"My first was terrible," Nabooru said gently, taking a seat beside her on the edge of the desk. "He was a lot older than me, a Hylian lord. He was very handsome though, very charming. But it hurt like hell, and I was so nervous and upset that I burst into tears halfway through and he was so disgusted that left me before he could even finish the act."

Zelda looked at her with surprise.

"So why did you like it?"

"I didn't. I hated it. My friends all thought I was mad and laughed at me. The next few weren't much better, but I just bit my lip and got on with it. Then I met someone really special." She smiled secretly and put her hand on the princess' shoulder. "We were friends first, he was my blacksmith. He showed me that my needs were important, and he made me feel like a goddess. I couldn't get enough of him."

"What happened?"

"We drifted apart. He wanted me to change, he wanted me to turn me into a good little wife and leave the Fortress. Perhaps I should have, but I had just been promoted to Ganondorf's third in command. I didn't want to give that all up. He found a lovely girl and got married, and I moved on. He taught me so much, I won't settle for second best. My boys have to see to _me_ before I see to _them_."

Zelda sat stock still, her eyes wide in disbelief and curiosity.

"And… they don't mind?"

Nabooru laughed heartily.

"Honey, if he's worth it the thought won't even cross his mind." She cast a sideways glance and smirked.

_Believe me princess, he'll be worth it. _

"I didn't think that it would be so complicated."

"Come on princess, it's swordplay! It's not meant to be easy, but it will be fun once you get into it."

"Can we drop the clichéd metaphor now Nabooru? I know exactly what you mean."

The Gerudo laughed.

"Well then, I'll say no more about it. By the way, what have you got planned for this evening?"

"Nothing. Why?"

"Consider yourself cordially invited to tonight's festivities as my personal guest."

"Festivities?" Zelda frowned. "What festivities?"

"Tonight's the last night of our autumn equinox festival," Nabooru explained. "It gets a bit rowdy, so don't bring your nanny."

In spite of the implications, Zelda laughed.

"I'd love to Nabooru, really, but I don't think I'll be able to get away."

"Nonsense! Just call it an exercise in Hylian-Gerudo relations. Your old man should go for it, and that's all that really matters, right? Plus you'll be _my _guest, no-one will lay a finger on you."

"Well…"

Nabooru could sense her weakening and whispered conspiratorially to her:

"Just think how much it would piss Sibella off that I invited _you_ and not her."

No more persuasion was needed after that.

Once Zelda had left for the castle, Nabooru poured herself a celebratory glass of wine and mused over the previous events of the day.

_"How about you come to the party tonight, kiddo." _

_"I don't know Nabooru, I'd fear for my chastity with you around." _

_"Link, don't be such a prude. I guarantee you'll have a good time." _

Nabooru had made it a point to insure that her promises always went fulfilled.

oOo

He was smiling at her, and the sun was shining almost too brightly behind him. His hair shone in the light, and then he leant over to kiss her and she found herself flinging her body into his arms, kissing him ardently.

"Trust me Zelda, I'll never hurt you." His voice was heavy, breathy, wonderful in her ear. "I want to make you feel good."

"Then do it." When had her voice become so sultry?

He was kissing her; somehow his mouth felt like fire against her skin. His lips weren't restricted to her mouth either, they were everywhere. She heard herself gasp and trembled as his tongue tasted the flesh of her throat and his teeth nibbled at her collar bone.

"I'm sorry I scared you, it's just I want you so much…"

"I want you too."

His body was warm and firm above her, his fingers were laced with hers as his hands pressed her own down against the mattress.

_Wait a minute, when did we get to a bed? _Zelda wondered briefly, but was cut off as he kissed her again. She moaned as he continued to wreak havoc on her body with his lips.

_Never mind. _

Suddenly she was bare beneath him and staring up into his eyes. They seemed too bright, too blue, too beautiful to possibly be real. He kissed her again, scorching her with the heat of his naked skin against hers. He wasn't close enough for her, she had to touch him. She wanted more…

Zelda awoke suddenly with a start and found herself lying in the darkness with her heart racing. She took a few deep breaths before sitting up and reaching for the beaker of water on the nightstand beside her. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire.

_Well. That was new. _

oOo

The night of the Gerudo festival fell on a perfect autumn evening. The moon was out and beaming down on the desert sands, turning them white as snow in its borrowed light. Nabooru had ridden to the castle before nightfall to escort her official guest to the proceedings and Zelda had been more than entertained by the look of disgust and envy on Sibella's face.

"You look very pretty tonight, Princess," Nabooru said as they drew near the fortress.

"Thank you," Zelda replied graciously, but she was a little surprised by the older woman's compliment.

The sound of drums tapping out a rhythmic beat accompanied a lively ensemble of woodwind and string instruments and echoed against the walls of the habitation and the surrounding rocks. Zelda couldn't help but smile as she watched a group of young girls whirling about in the firelight with brightly coloured scarves flying out behind them in the breeze as their comrades clapped to the beat of the music.

"You are in for a real treat tonight my friend," Nabooru said, grinning broadly. "We've got vats of stew cooking away, the bread's so fresh it's still warm and we got about twelve kegs of the good stuff out of the cellar. Get ready to let your hair down."

"Oh don't worry," Zelda reassured her, "it will be. Well and truly."

"You want me to show you where you're sleeping?" Nabooru offered as she dismounted. "Not that there's going to be a lot of sleeping tonight with all the partying."

"Nabooru!" Aveil had come hobbling out of the Fortress on her crutches. "Nabooru, we've got a problem with the fireworks."

Zelda couldn't help but smile as Nabooru turned the air blue with some particularly strong Gerudo swearwords.

"I'll find it myself," she told her. "Just point me in the right direction."

"Up the stairs, third floor, take the left corridor, then the third corridor on the left, second on the right and it's the fifth door on the right. Can't miss it."

Nabooru rushed off, leaving Zelda to take her bundle of clothes up to her allotted room.

Five minutes later, she realised her mistake when she found herself totally and utterly lost. The place was like a labyrinth, and every corridor looked exactly like the last.

"Farore, Nayru and Dim damn it!" she cried, flinging her bag down. "This is a nightmare!"

"Zelda?"

She froze at the sound of a familiar voice and prayed she wasn't losing her mind as Link appeared from behind a closed door, looking just as surprised to see her as she was to see him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Trying to find my room, but it's hopeless."

"Yeah, this place can be a bit disorientating. Here, why don't you just shove your stuff in my room?"

He picked up her bag before she could say a word and took it into the room he had emerged from. Zelda followed him quietly, feeling dizzy with the conflicting emotions she was feeling just being near him. She had no idea that she had missed him so much, or that his presence had this sort of effect on her.

"I didn't know that you'd be here," Zelda said as she watched him put her bag by his shield. "But I'm so glad you are."

"You are?" The scepticism was plain on his face.

"Don't look at me like that."

"I'm sorry, how should I be looking at you?"

"No Link, I'm the one who's sorry. Can we-"

"It's not that simple Zelda, I'm not going to jump through hoops for you."

"I know. I don't want you to either." She took a step towards him and reached out for him, resting her palm flat on his heart. "I'm sorry. I was scared and I panicked, I ran away just like I always do."

His hand covered hers.

"But you're here now."

She nodded meekly and looked up at him with uncertainty. He smiled and brushed his thumb over the back of her hand.

"I missed you," he murmured. "Don't make me give you up again."

The air was charged between them, heavy with the promise of the unknown. Suddenly they were in each others arms, kissing the breath out of each other.

"What are we doing?" Zelda gasped. "This whole thing between us, it's just…"

"Crazy," Link finished for her. "But doesn't that make it right?"

"In some ways," she replied. "All I know is that being with you has made me happier than I thought I could ever be, and I don't want to throw away whatever this craziness is because of a stupid mistake."

"I was the stupid one Zelda, it was my-"

His words were cut off by her finger on his lips.

"Ssh. You got carried away and it surprised me, but now that's in the past."

"So what do we do now?" he asked softly, taking her hand in his.

"I don't know, but I know that I want you."

"I care about you too much to mess this up, and I don't ever want to do anything to hurt you."

Zelda blinked at this honest admission of his feelings for her, feeling a strange warmth spread throughout her entire body from hearing his words.

"Knowing that you feel like that," she said slowly, bringing her hand up to cup his cheek, "I know you won't."

She tiptoed up to kiss him, feeling him very slowly begin to return it as his arms drew her closer to him. Her fingers began to unlace his tunic, causing him break the kiss abruptly and draw back.

"Are you… are you sure?"

She nodded.

"I want to be sure. Can't we just…"

"See how it works out?" he finished for her.

She nodded again and this time, he kissed her with every ounce of sweetness he possessed. He took her hand in his, squeezing it gently and she squeezed back, staring into his eyes with her blue irises pleading with him in an unspoken request.

_Link… make me happy… _

oOo

(See my profile page for details on where to find the missing lemon!)

oOo

"What's taking the princess so long?" Aveil asked, as she put her empty beaker down on the sand.

Nabooru shrugged, not diverting her attention from the younger girls who were dancing around the fire.

"Maybe she got lost."

Inwardly Nabooru laughed.

_"Up the stairs, third floor, take the left corridor, then the third corridor on the left, second on the right and it's the fifth door on the right. Can't miss it." _

There was no third corridor on the left, or a second on the right, but by the time Zelda would have worked that out, Link would have already found her.

oOo

"I'd never realised that it could be this way."

Zelda found her fingers playing across Link's stomach, tracing a path along his abdominal muscles. Link smiled sleepily and pressed a kiss against her hair.

"Me neither."

He pulled her closer with one arm while he propped the second behind his head. Her hair smelt of honeysuckle and felt softer than Epona's muzzle.

_Gods, my romantic imagery could do with so work. _

"Are we… no-one's going to…" Zelda's previously relaxed face was drawn with worry.

"No. We're fine, there's no-one around. Don't worry." He kissed her again, this time allowing his lips to linger for longer against her skin. "With the amount of alcohol that's being drunk, I don't think anyone's going to bother thinking about us."

Zelda smiled and snuggled closer to him, burying her face against his throat.

"Good. I don't want to go anywhere just yet."

Link couldn't stop himself from grinning as Zelda snuggled into him. His heart was beating ten to the dozen. He cuddled her close, dropping a kiss on the top of her head.

"That's a relief, I wasn't planning on letting you go just yet."

Zelda laughed.

"You know, I think you want to do that again."

"Zel-"

"I know I do."

She laughed as she saw the slightly incredulous look on her bed-mate's face.

"Give me a minute," he stammered. "The soldier needs time to recuperate."

"You call your… _thing_ 'the soldier?'"

"No," he replied, but with a look that suggested otherwise and made her giggle.

"Perhaps I can coax it back into action."

"I don't doubt that you could."

She sighed contentedly and snuggled into the crook of his arm, lacing her fingers with his as he reached for her hand. Her eyes closed and she rested her head on his shoulder.

_I wish I could just stay here forever. _

"You know, I wasn't exactly telling the truth when I said I was watching the castle for you," Link murmured.

Zelda was shaken out of her thoughts by that single statement. She opened her eyes and looked up into Link's peaceful and contented face.

"Oh?" she enquired meekly.

"No. You were very high on my list of priorities but it was mostly so I could keep an eye on that damned cat, it had been getting way too cocky."

Zelda blinked and the laughed softly.

"You moron."

"Thank you."

He moved and took his weight upon his elbows so he could lie above her before dropping a friendly sort of kiss on her lips. She took him by surprise by curling her arms up around his neck and pulling him down deeper into the kiss.

"I can't tell you how glad I am to have you," she whispered against his shoulder when he drew her into his arms for a hug. "You're my dearest friend in the world."

Link felt a weight descend upon him at her words.

_Friend._

Oh no, they weren't friends anymore, at least not to him. He couldn't go back to being just a friend to her, not even a best friend. From the moment he had tasted her lips in the forest, he knew that he would never again be satisfied by their relationship. Now that they had been intimate, everything became clear to him, as though a mist had cleared and he was finally able to see what had been obscured for so long.

He loved her. Link had, against any shred of better judgement his psyche might have possessed, fallen head over heels in love with his best friend.

_When the hell did that happen? _

_Well, when **haven't **you felt like that? _

He kissed her forehead and held her close, watching as their bodies were illuminated by a flash of red from the first firework that exploded outside the window.

"We're more than that though, right?" he murmured into her hair.

"You're right. Much more." Zelda's Triforce hand touched his, causing both of their pieces to pulse warmly as the room turned green. "Link?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you teach me swordplay?"

_to be continued… _


	21. Admission

Disclaimer: Legend of Zelda and everything found within its universe is the property of Nintendo. Not me.

AN: Sorry for the delay! There are two reasons for this: 1. Twilight Princess (need I say more?) 2. Uni. 3. I just don't seem to be writing anything that I'm particularly happy with at the moment, and the last thing I want to do is come out with something half-arsed.

There's a lot of Link/Zelda action in this chapter, perhaps a little more than I'd initially envisaged but there we go- my incurably romantic side got the better of me. Anyway, in response to some of the reviews, we're going back to the future in two chapters at the very most. There are a few key events that need addressing, two of which have been set in motion by the end of this chapter. This is, I suppose, the second Order of the Phoenix chapter!

Vagabond II: The Past

Chapter 21: Admission

It was strange how a period as short as five days had the ability to completely change a person.

Zelda had been nervous and terrified about the aftermath, but true to Link's word their absence had gone largely unnoticed and they were able to rejoin the party without a second glance (although Zelda could have sworn that Nabooru kept winking at her every time she saw her). Throughout the night they had sat near each other, danced together and eaten side by side, and when the fire died down and the partygoers retired to bed, they had slipped back to their room and picked up where they had left off.

Since then, Princess Zelda of Hyrule had become a new woman.

After making good on her suggestion to bring Link to see her father, the king had wholeheartedly approved to her swordplay lessons. She had been surprised at his enthusiasm, and when she had questioned him on the subject, he had smiled and taken her hand.

"Is it something you really want to do?"

"Yes Father, but don't you think it's a little… unladylike?"

"I think it's perfectly appropriate. After all, it's reassuring to know that the queen will be as able to fight for her people as a king would be. I believe that Master Link will be a good teacher for you."

Zelda had allowed herself a smile at that.

"I don't doubt it."

"It will give me another reason to knight him, anyway."

At this, Zelda had looked at her father in surprise.

"You're going to knight him?"

"He deserves it. He's a breath of fresh air; it's nice to see someone genuine around here for a change."

Zelda fought the enormous grin that threatened to overpower her face at his words and merely nodded.

"He will be so pleased to hear that, it's something he's always wanted."

"I am glad to hear you say that. It pleases me that you have such concern for someone, even though his background is so much lowlier than your own."

She had glanced at him with a look of mild distaste.

"The circumstances of a man's birth have no reflection on his worth, Father."

The women of Sibella's household had been astonished to find the princess in the company of their favourite young man and wielding a wooden practice sword the following afternoon. They were even more surprised that the king had risen from his bed and was watching their lesson with keen interest.

"When I suggested this, I had no idea I'd be making an even bigger spectacle out of myself," Zelda muttered under her breath.

Link smiled and laid down his practice sword.

"You know you love it really."

"Not true. Now I know how _you_ feel." She sat down on the bench and examined the sword in her hands. "How is this thing anything like a real sword?"

Link smiled and drew his sword from the scabbard on his back. He sat beside her and laid the blade across their laps.

"I'm not letting you loose with a real sword until you can handle the stick, but I suppose there's no harm in letting you look at mine now."

Zelda ran her fingertips over the steel, revelling in the beauty of the metal.

"No two swords are the same, they're as individual as you or I. I've known a few, and each one's felt totally different to the other. I personally think there's one perfect sword in the world for each person, and mine doesn't get to see the light of day very often."

He turned his head towards the direction of the town and Zelda knew without looking that his gaze rested upon the spire of the Temple of Time.

"You sound sad."

"I shouldn't be. If it's needed again, then something bad must have happened. It's a shame though, it isn't called the Master Sword without reason."

"What's so special about it?"

"I couldn't begin to tell you. It's just… no other sword feels quite like it. The weight of it is perfect, the balance is perfect and you feel like you could cut the air itself with one slice. It felt like it was an extension of me, and nothing else comes close."

Zelda looked at the blade on her lap for a moment and then shrugged.

"Well I'm not going to learn how to use one these by just staring at it. Come on, let's get out of here."

The sword was sheathed and she was on her feet, ready to leave.

"We're leaving?"

"I can't do anything here. We both get an audience wherever we go and I know I'm going to be feeling self-conscious enough doing this, so we're going to find somewhere more private."

Link blinked.

"We are?"

"Yes."

_Because I know that I won't be able to keep my hands off you for very long,_ Zelda thought to herself as she followed Link to the stables where Epona and Pearl were waiting for them. _And that would be one way to get myself talked about again._

oOo

He was standing there like a statue, his eyes low and guarded. He took a deep breath before he moved, sweeping the sword in a wide arc before him with a slow, controlled slice and stopping in an instant as he reached the end of the movement, adjusted his feet and stepped forward into a stab.

"Very nice," Zelda observed from behind him, eyeing his bare back with a covetous grin.

Link sighed and turned to see his pupil lying on her stomach in the grass behind him. She had propped her chin on her palms, leaning on her elbows as she watched him.

"I don't think you're taking this very seriously."

Zelda's smile was broad and mischievous as she shot her tutor a soulful, innocent look.

"Oh I am. Very seriously."

"Good. Now when it comes to this manoeuvre you need to- Zelda, you're not concentrating!"

Link was frustrated to see the princess laughing.

"I just find it amazing that you move so beautifully when you've got a sword in your hand, but you're still a hopeless dancer."

Exasperated, Link put his sword back into its scabbard and folded his arms.

"What's it going to take to get you to concentrate?"

She looked at him thoughtfully.

"Well, I am concentrating, but not exactly on the sword. You are very distracting."

Link frowned.

"How so?"

"Well…" Zelda got to her feet and moved towards him, slowly unfastening the buttons at her throat as she did. "How would _you_ feel if _I_ practiced swordplay without a shirt on?"

Link's eyes widened while Zelda laughed again. He shook his head before grinning with a suggestion of satisfaction.

"I think you'd cause a sensation."

"Am I causing a sensation?"

"You're certainly causing something."

She pecked the tip of his nose before he pulled her in for a proper kiss. Her hands skittered up his bare chest to rest at his shoulders, partly as a means to support herself as her legs turned to the consistency of a Chu Chu. Link broke the kiss far too soon for her liking and smiled.

"You know, I'm going to have to teach you _some_ self defence."

She laughed quietly and looked at him with a smirk.

"Why would I need to know how to defend myself when I've got you watching me like I'm made of glass?"

"'Cause I'm not going to be with you all the time, am I?"

Sadness flooded her eyes momentarily and the taunting smirk that had played on her lips faded just as quickly.

"No, I suppose you aren't."

He smiled and took her hand, determined to see her smile again.

"But we're here now, right? There's nothing to stop me from teaching you."

She looked at him with a frown, before regaining that slow, taunting smirk he had longed to see.

"The way I see it, we have two choices. You could put your shirt back on and continue with this afternoon's lesson, or…" Her right hand travelled down from his shoulder to rest on his abdomen. "We could just forget about clothes altogether and have a five minute break."

"I'm insulted. Half an hour."

"_Really_?"

"That's very low estimate, but at least that."

"You sound very sure of yourself. Do you have anything to support this bravado?"

"Why don't you find out for yourself?"

As it turned out, it _was_ a low estimate.

oOo

"So where do you see yourself in the future, Princess? If you could have one wish that completely controlled your destiny, what would it be?"

They were lying in what they had come to call 'their' glade, basking in the sunlight on top of a Wolfos pelt that Link had brought with him. Zelda made a mental note to ask him to bring it again, it was very comfortable. Not quite as comfortable as Link, but nice anyway. After an afternoon of lovemaking, they were both in varying states of undress, idly caressing each other and stealing kisses as the autumn leaves blew around them.

"My future…" Zelda said slowly. "I dream of security. I want to see a united Hyrule, all the races standing side by side and fighting for each other. I want a prosperous, thriving kingdom that is respected by our neighbours."

"Zelda, that's _Hyrule's _future, not yours."

"The two go hand in hand."

"OK, but you personally. What do you want?"

She looked up at him thoughtfully.

"I want an heir. I want a son to take the throne- I need one if I'm ever going to succeed my father without throwing the country into uproar."

"You're still not grasping the whole 'you' concept, Zelda. Anyway, why do you need people to follow your son? I'd follow you, kid or no kid."

"I know you would, but you're an exception," she murmured, kissing his cheek. "What about you?"

Link laughed.

"Oh no, I'm not saying. You'll think it's stupid," he replied.

"Why did you bring it up in the first place if you weren't going to share yourself?" she protested. "Anyway, I won't."

"Well even _I_ think it's stupid and cheesy, so I won't tell you. It's more than my reputation's worth."

Zelda laughed.

"Then I'm going to have to make you."

He chuckled throatily.

"I'd like to see you try."

"That sounds like fighting talk to me, master hero."

Before he could work a reply, Link's lips were occupied by Zelda's. He allowed himself to sink into her ambush, knowing that only good things would come of it.

"Did you like that?" she asked, brushing her fingers over his bare chest.

"Do you even have to ask?" He leaned into her for another, but she pulled back with a smirk.

"You are getting no more favours from me until I hear it."

"That's bribery! That is not what I call ladylike behaviour, princess…"

She arched an eyebrow at him, a mischievous smirk on her lips.

"I think I'm way past ladylike behaviour, what with me being here with you in my undergarments in the middle of the afternoon. So tell me."

"I dream of a family," Link murmured.

"A family?" Zelda asked, cocking her head to one side. "I thought you dreamed of being a knight."

"Yeah, but that's just for show really. What I want, what I _really _want, is my own family."

"Why?"

"I've never had one," he continued, "not a real one anyway. Not flesh and blood. I suppose I want to know what it feels like. I dream of having a house with a small paddock at the back where there are Cuccos and a cow, and there's a lean-to stable for Epona when the weather gets bad."

"I thought you already had a house. Didn't you get Kal's?"

"Well yeah, but that's reality. My dreams have always been different, it's always been _this_ house in my dreams."

"What does the house look like?"

"Oh it's small," he assured her. "It's nothing big or fancy, just a two up, one down cottage really. It'll have a thatched roof, and a big stone fireplace in the living room. The dog sleeps in front of it."

Zelda laughed.

"You want a dog?"

"Yeah I want a dog!" Link laughed. "I told you it was stupid."

"I never said that," she protested. "Go on."

He frowned, as if trying to work out where else to go on the plans for his future.

"In the winter, I'll have a huge stack of logs piled up by the chimney and my gorgeous wife and I'll spend our nights just sitting by the fire."

"With the dog?"

"No, the dog stays downstairs. I'll build a fireplace in our bedroom and we'll have a fur rug in front of it so we can just lie next to each other and keep warm."

He ran the palm of his hand up her thigh and she snuggled in closer to him.

"We have our first baby about a year after we get married," he murmured. "Of course, he'll be a boy. The girls come later."

"You want children?"

"Lots of children," he assured her. "Lots of beautiful, blue eyed babies, unless you only want a few."

"Me?" Zelda sat up and stared at him. "I'm in this fantasy?"

"Shut up and lie down," he teased, "and stop interrupting."

She did as she was told, frowning slightly.

"In answer to your question, yes, you are in my future," he told her. "I steal you away from Phineas and we move into our house. And I marry you. That's alright with you, isn't it?"

"Of course it is, we'd make a great married couple," Zelda laughed. "I actually _like _you, which gives us a better start than my current marriage."

"Excellent. Well, we move in and it'll be rundown at first, but I'm going to do it up and we'll make it ours. It won't be a palace or anything, but that doesn't matter. Between eating, sleeping and taking care of the animals, we'll spend all our time having great sex in the huge bed that you make me build for us, and then you'll get pregnant and we'll have a baby boy."

"You already said that," Zelda reminded him.

"Did I?" Link grinned and stroked her hair. "Well, would you prefer a girl first?"

"No, no, a boy's fine. Go on."

"I'll teach him to ride when he's three, mainly because he wants to learn but also because you're about to have his little sister and need your rest. He looks a bit like me, he adores you and won't give you a moment's peace, but he'll have your eyes. They'll all have your eyes," he added.

"How very boring," Zelda retorted. "I'd like at least one of them to look like you. It would be a crime if your good looks died with you."

"Dear gods, was that a compliment?"

"Mmm, keep going about our cottage," she murmured, kissing his clavicle.

"Actually, that's as far as I got. We just start repeating ourselves, having more and more babies."

"Got any names lined up?"

"Well yeah. The first one's Little Link-"

"There can't be a _third_ Link in Hyrule, that would be so confusing. Plus highly unoriginal."

"Oh alright then, what do you want to call our son then?"

"I have no idea. Sheik, probably."

"I'm unoriginal?! You lack _any_ originality, nymph," he chuckled.

"I object to that!" She frowned. "Anyway, why do you keep calling me nymph?"

"If you don't like it then I'll stop."

"No it's fine. I'm curious, that's all. Why nymph?"

Link cracked a slow, lazy smile in her direction.

"Because," he purred, "you just can't get enough of it."

"I can't get enough of… _Link!_"

He laughed and dragged her towards his body.

"Calm down _nymph_." He smirked as she pouted at him. "You can't get enough _and _you're like a real nymph- a beautiful, near-divine creature who has the ability to captivate everyone around her."

Zelda looked at him cynically.

"But it's primarily down to me being a clandestine nymphomaniac?"

"Oh hell yes."

"Well then," she replied briskly. "I'll just have to call you woody, concurrent with your forest origins and your rapid ability to obtain-"

"This is just a cunning ruse of yours to hide your lack of names for our son," Link remarked quickly, changing the subject and dragging some more fur over his parts.

"Not true, I have many names lined up for my firstborn-"

"Really? Then enlighten me."

She glared challengingly at him.

"Kyran. Jareth. Marius. Would you like me to go on or will you suggest a couple yourself?"

"Well we're never going to have a kid called Marius if I have my way."

"I'm sorry, but seeing as I'm the one giving birth I ought to have a free rein on naming him."

"Yeah, but you can forget all sexual favours from now on if _that's _going to be our firstborn's name!"

Zelda giggled and nestled in closer to his warmth.

"Your suggestions then, oh lord and master?"

"Kal maybe? Not for the first one though. The second perhaps."

"Mmm, but of course."

"Edan. Conran. Drake." He paused to shift the weight on his arm, which had been falling asleep. "Oriana."

Zelda propped herself up on her elbow with a look of admiration and surprise.

"Oriana's a _girl's_ name Link."

"Well we can't forget about the girls, can we? They need names too, and we can't call them all Zelda and Linka. Besides, I like Oriana."

"It's beautiful," Zelda conceded. "Where'd you come across it?"

"I heard a hermit telling a story when I was on my way back from Holodrum after Kal's funeral. The heroine's name was Oriana," he said quietly. "It just struck me as being one of the saddest things I'd ever heard, but it was nice in a weird kinda way. Does that make any sense?"

Zelda nodded.

"When we have a girl, we'll call her Oriana. And her big brother _Marius_ will love her to bits."

"Right, that's it. I warned you!"

She shrieked as Link started to tickle her before silencing her protests with a hungry kiss.

oOo

oOo

"Do you think you're ready?"

Link smiled and nodded in response to Malon's question. The bedridden girl smiled and was about to say something more when she was overcome by another coughing fit. Her friend hastily leaned over and patted her back gently for her until her coughs subsided. She smiled at him sheepishly.

"I can't believe I'm going to be stuck in here while you're out there winning the tournament. Stupid flu."

Link smiled sympathetically at her and ruffled her hair.

"You just concentrate on getting better, you hear me? It's not as if I won't be reliving the whole thing for you in minute detail."

"It won't be the same thing as watching it."

Link shrugged.

"I know, and it won't be the same not having you there cheering for me. Hoarfrost will be devastated."

"He'll manage," Malon said, fighting a giggle so that it didn't send her off into another coughing fit. "How's he been going for you anyway? It feels like ages since we've last talked about it."

Link fought the knot of guilt that coiled in his stomach. He knew that he'd been neglecting his training, _and _Malon for that matter, but his mind was filled with thoughts of Zelda from the moment he woke up until the moment he fell asleep.

"Hoarfrost knows what's coming and he's full of himself. I think he misses Kal, to be honest."

"Poor old boy," Malon murmured. "He'll be OK though, he's a natural born show off. I bet even Dayne could win on him if he's put his mind to beating the competition."

Link pretended to look affronted.

"Thanks so much for that. Now if I win, you're going to think it's the horse who won it and not me. Way to feed a guy's ego, Mal."

Malon giggled and fell victim to the coughing fit she'd been trying to hold at bay.

"Moron," she told him fondly. "Now what about you? Are you feeling confident?"

"I feel like I can do anything in the world, even fly to the moon."

"Well you look very well," Malon commented, smiling at him. "Unlike me."

"You're the prettiest invalid I know," he told her kindly. "You've got a fashionably pale complexion as a result."

She flushed pink.

"You just get well for me, OK? You don't suit being bed-ridden." He smiled affectionately at her and ruffled her hair. "I'll come by and tell you everything the day after tomorrow and bring you a toffee apple."

"Ooh, will you?" Malon's smile was enormous. "A red one?"

"You bet. Anything else?"

She shook her head.

"No thanks. Oh, have you got your costume sorted out?"

Link's face fell a mile.

"I totally forgot," he groaned. "Now I've got to spend all evening doing that."

Malon patted him on the shoulder.

"You'll think of something. You could always go as a Fairy Boy- oh wait, you already are one."

Link shot her a withering glare.

"I _hate _fancy dress."

oOo

Link had caught sight of Zelda briefly as he had headed for the sword fighting rings. He had nodded and kissed the favour tucked in his gauntlet that she had given him the day before- a strip of silk she had torn from her chemise that smelt of her perfume. She had smiled secretly at him and promised him with her eyes that she would find time to see him soon. He had been so looking forward to this that he had let his first opponent get a few stupid hits on him, but nothing that he couldn't recover from. Like the year before, he had outclassed the competition and won his way to the final with enviable ease. He found himself Sword Champion before the break for lunch, leaving him plenty of time to catch his breath for the jousts. Unfortunately, most of this time was spent with him being congratulated by his ever growing fan club and being offered various victory drinks from his friends, all of which he had been forced to decline in order to keep his head clear for the jousts. He was irritated not to get a chance to speak to Zelda until she had telepathically promised him she would reward him for his victory later, when they were alone.

He didn't mind so much after that.

"Master Link?"

Link was brought abruptly back down to earth by a nervous looking page.

"Yes?"

"They're calling your name in the lists sir."

Nodding, he nudged Hoarfrost onwards with only the slightest hint of resistance from the big grey. Hoarfrost had been off with him all day, appearing to be in a sulk. Part of Link was convinced that the gelding was missing Kal, especially when not even the sound of the opening fanfare had lightened the horse's spirits. With a slight edge of irritation, he eyed the gaggle of girls watching him and giggling mindlessly as Hoarfrost pranced and plunged towards the collecting ring. He couldn't care less if he appeared to be the most gallant and fabulous man in the kingdom at that moment, all he wanted to do was get this whole charade over with so that he could be with Zelda- the previous afternoon seemed like it was worlds away.

Suddenly he spied Talon waving madly at him and took a quick detour.

"Good, I caught you!" He was slightly breathless. "I was worried I'd miss you!"

Hoarfrost pawed the ground impatiently.

"What's up Talon?"

"Epona's broken the hitching rail she was tied to and she's causing chaos. I tried to catch her but she wasn't having any of it."

Link swore under his breath.

"Whatever you do, make sure they don't start my joust until I get back, OK?" He leapt from the saddle and handed the reins to him. "I knew I should have left her in the forest."

oOo

Zelda felt like she was on show, as though every single pair of eyes was upon her, and for the first time in over a year she really didn't care. If people wanted to watch her instead of the tournament then let them; they'd be missing a great contest. Sibella looked extremely beautiful next to her, her dark hair falling in perfectly formed waves over her snowy white cloak trimmed with down. Her smile was fixed in place, a beacon to which many of the sillier girls at court aspired to. The idea of such empty beauty frankly sickened Zelda, but she hid any outward signs of her contempt behind the same impassive mask her emotions had been hiding behind for the last year.

"Your Grace?"

Snapped out of her thoughts, Zelda's attention turned to the woman who had just spoken to her. She was a miniscule woman with curly auburn hair and soft grey eyes.

"Yes?"

The woman looked slightly nervous, and Zelda couldn't help but notice that suddenly Dezauras' attention was fixed on them.

"Your Grace, I… well, I am Lady Lowenva, my lady, Lord Derick's wife."

Zelda felt the eyes of everyone in the box upon her as the atmosphere fell silent. Lowenva was talking to her hurriedly in a voice that wavered with terrible nerves.

"I was wondering if I could perhaps have a word with you."

Aware that suddenly all eyes were upon her, Zelda nodded and got to her feet, gesturing for the other woman to follow. Her father watched her with a look on his face that almost resembled concern while Sibella looked exceptionally curious. Zelda fought to keep the frown from her face.

Lowenva was gabbling away rapidly as they walked.

"I am so sorry, I never meant to steal him from you, but he was mine first really. And, well, I love him so much my lady and I tried not to but I couldn't help myself-"

She was cut off as Zelda put a hand on the crook of her arm.

"There is nothing for you to apologise about. I never had a formal claim on your husband, so you have stolen nothing from me."

Lowenva looked startled, reminding Zelda inexplicably of a young deer.

"You do not think me a whore?"

Zelda shook her head.

"There are those in the world who cannot help but act on their feelings. I cannot condemn those who have the courage to act upon what their hearts tell them to do."

_I'd be a damned hypocrite if I did, partaking of afternoon romps with a friend and throwing every marriage vow out of the window as I'm wont to do._

"But-"

"Lady Lowenva," Zelda said gently. "Do not ask me to dislike you or offer you my forgiveness. You have done nothing wrong. I greatly hope that you and your husband are happy and that your child is healthy and a credit to the both of you."

Lowenva's face flooded with relief and was claimed by a cheerful smile.

"Oh he is Your Highness, he's just like his father."

The princess smiled gently.

"Then I am happy for you and offer you my blessing."

Lowenva thanked her extensively before rushing back to the box after seeing her husband ride past on his charger. Zelda watched her go, a small smile on her face.

If only life could be that simple.

oOo

"Damnit!"

Link tore across the field, heedless of the devastation he left in his wake. He could see her there, her ears pinned flat back and her eyes fierce as a group of burly men tried to catch her. She lashed out, snapping her teeth at the men and coming within inches of biting them. The horse was being malicious on purpose, it was a game of hers that she loved to play when other men tried to get near her (with the possible exception of Talon). Epona delighted in scaring the living daylights out of any man who presumed he was better than her and would only show her respect to someone who would see past her façade.

"That horse is a monster!"

"Whose beast is it?"

"Animal like that is only good for one thing-"

"If you'd leave her alone then maybe she'd behave!" Link snapped. "Get back from her before you get yourselves hurt."

Epona's ears flicked forward at the sound of her master's voice and lowered her head in a perfect equine parody of sheepishness. He frowned and shook his head as the mare walked towards him.

"Don't look at me that way, you're still in trouble."

The group of men looked at him as though he was completely mad or at least a sorcerer for getting the wild horse to suddenly become as placid as a lamb.

"I'm not sure I like this rebellious phase you're going through Epona," Link told the horse as she followed him through the crowd back towards the collecting ring. "I know you don't like me having another horse but what the hell else am I supposed to do with him?"

She snorted and butted his shoulder.

"Stop trying to get yourself out of trouble by being cute," he scolded her. "You could have hurt someone with your little stunt today, you know that? What do you-"

He stopped when he caught sight of something very unwelcome.

Dezauras.

The man was talking to someone Link didn't recognise, and the stranger was looking extremely irritated about something. Dezauras' face was as flat and unreadable as ever, and once again Link found himself fighting the desire to punch him in the face. He knew that it wouldn't lead to anything good or remotely productive, but just doing so would give him an immense amount of pleasure.

The scolding Zelda would give him afterwards, however, wouldn't be as enjoyable, despite the various interesting scenarios his mind was coming up with to the contrary.

The other man slipped away into the crowd and Dezauras watched him go, his eyes narrowed, before departing in the other direction.

Link was just about to go after him when a frantic Dayne came bolting through the crowd to remind him that he had three minutes to get to the lists.

oOo

Several hours later, and after some brilliant jousts, the final was just about to begin. The competitors would be Lord Derick, and Link.

"Well this should be an interesting final," Sibella purred, leaning forward in her seat. "Wouldn't you agree my lord?"

Harkinian smiled at his wife and nodded.

"I agree. These two champions shall certainly put on a good show."

The king had been deemed fit enough to come out and watch the tournament, but even so a pair of doctors sat behind him watching him with hawk-eyes. The atmosphere within the box was upbeat and relaxed; everyone was pleased to see their monarch in better health, including Sibella. Zelda didn't need to ask why, she had heard the rumours around court and felt a pang of sympathy for her cousin. She knew full well how it felt to be the subject of those kinds of rumours. Even so, she was irritated at the lack of concern her step-mother was showing.

A sudden cheer went up as the two competitors took their places. Zelda watched as Hoarfrost pawed at the dirt beneath his feet. Link sat calmly in the saddle, his face partly hidden by his visor but Zelda found she could read his body with ease. He radiated calm confidence, and she was certain she knew what he was thinking.

'You Derick? You're mine.'

She hid her smile and fixed her gaze on her lover's armoured body.

'_It's your year. Go get 'im.'_

Link brought his left hand up and pulled down his visor the rest of the way to acknowledge her before taking his first lance.

The fanfare echoed around the field and was followed by total silence. All eyes were on the flag as it fluttered downward. Derick's roan mare flew down the lists as Hoarfrost thundered toward her. Link levelled out his lance and thrust it towards Derick with most of his weight behind it. It shattered on Derick's shoulder, splinters flying.

Derick's lance bounced off Link's shoulder guard intact and earned a groan from his supporters. Zelda applauded as enthusiastically as she could without drawing attention to herself, even though she thought she'd burst from pride.

_If I'm this happy now, what am I going to be like when he wins?_

She had a very good idea how they would celebrate, and she almost wised that she could just skip the ball and spend the whole night celebrating with Link. However, she also couldn't wait until he saw her in her dress. As soon as Sheeva, Nabooru's tailor, has suggested the idea she had been picturing Link's reaction to her appearance.

It was perfect.

Link was advancing toward Derick for a second time, and this time the force of the blow knocked his opponent clean out of the saddle. Zelda was vaguely aware of Lowenva's gasp from somewhere behind her, but her erratic, impulsive heart was too busy spurring the rest of her body to celebrate Link's victory.

_That's my man!_

She checked herself for a moment, conscious of the effect her delight might have on anybody who was watching her.

_But he's not _your _man is he? _

Zelda was determined not to let that one major problem stand in the way of her current happiness. Tonight after the ball she would sneak out of the castle and meet him in the Sacred Glade, from where they would go back to Link's tree-house and spend the entire night together for the first time.

Nothing had every seemed more appealing.

oOo

Everything had been going so well. No one had suspected that there was more going on with the king's illness than just fatigue. It was soon to progress to the next level, and after that the final phase. The whole thing should have taken less than nine months to complete, and should have been done before winter set in. But then the impossible happened.

Something or someone was healing him.

'_We must put a halt to the plan for the time being. The king is recovering. I do not know how or why, but I cannot afford to act while he is being watched so closely and risk discovery. I will find out what has caused this hitch and factor it into the next attempt.'_

Gaius was not pleased to receive the news from his nephew.

'_The plan was foolproof,'_ he wrote. '_There is no excuse for this gross oversight on your part. You have not only let me down, but our entire family. The plan must be carried through until it comes to fruition. I do not need to remind you of the importance of our success. It is imperative to the future wellbeing of our noble house, and to honour the memory of our one, true king._

_Your father was fool enough to fail. You, through your mother, are of the truest blood. You would not allow yourself to fall short of perfection. Do not let his disgrace become your own._

_Do not fail us Titus.'_

oOo

After hours of fussing on Saria's part, and more attention from the rest of the Kokiri than he was entirely comfortable with, Link finally made his way to Hyrule Castle to celebrate his victory. Epona was in fine spirits, trotting prettily and parading her master as though he was made of precious metal. When he arrived, he learnt that King Harkinian had spent the time between the tournament and the ball locked away in his room with a company of physicians inspecting his health. Link thought it was more than slightly suspicious that there was such a grand ball being thrown at a time when Hyrule's king was supposedly ailing. He also found it even more irregular that the queen, who should have been displaying signs of concern for her husband's health, was visibly enjoying herself with no trace of worry on her face.

Link's eyes narrowed at the thought of her.

He found it difficult to stomach the woman on most days, but he found it especially hard as she sat encased in yards of gold embroidered scarlet velvet and snow white silk, framed by gemstone encrusted silk wings. Her black hair was braided tightly and coiled into a chignon at the back of her head, sitting pretty beneath a finely wrought crown of golden leaves with a hefty ruby set into the centre. She was not short of jewels or admirers, and with her bodice as tight as it was it seemed as though her cleavage was about to swallow them.

"Our _queen _is certainly attracting a lot of attention this evening," Impa remarked dryly.

Link smiled sarcastically.

"Her sense of modesty astonishes me," he drawled.

"She'll find herself in for a nasty shock when the king makes his appearance."

He looked at her quizzically but received merely a raising of the eyebrows in reply.

"She makes a very unconvincing Fairy Queen," Impa continued. "I'd say she was acting more like a harlot queen. What have you come as, by the way?"

The Sheikah cast her eye over Link's outfit, which consisted of his Kokiri tunic, a green undershirt, brown leggings and his usual brown boots.

"A tree."

"I see."

All of a sudden a hush fell over the ballroom and all eyes travelled to the staircase. At the top stood the King, looking pale and drawn beneath the pomp and ceremony of his brilliant scarlet and gold robes, although his magnificence was overshadowed by the subtle beauty and natural radiance of his daughter by his side. Link's breath hitched in his throat at the sight of her, and like many of the other men present he felt a strong flare of desire for her. But unlike the rest of the men present, he alone was going to get the chance to act on his cravings.

The dress Zelda wore was pale green, interwoven with threads of silver. Its sleeves were long and flowing, made of green tinted gossamer and shimmering in the candlelight of the ballroom. Her hair tumbled freely from beneath the enamelled ivy-leaf circlet on her head, falling in waves against her bare back and accented by beads of glass that glistened like dewdrops in the candlelight. Link immediately flushed pink at the memory of the last time he had seen that area of her body exposed to him and suddenly felt possessive as he noticed the sea of male faces that appeared to mentally undress her as she walked past.

"How dare she flaunt her disregard of the rules of court in my face?" Sibella seethed. "What _is_ she doing?"

Link looked at Impa for an answer and received a faint quirk of the lips as a response.

"In the Royal Court there are unwritten laws which must be obeyed," the Sheikah explained. "They regard things like dancing and what colour clothes people wear and so forth."

"So what's Zelda doing wrong?"

Impa's smile broadened.

"She's wearing her hair loose."

"So?"

"So, in Court circles only an unmarried woman or the queen may wear her hair loose. Sibella, of course, would rather die than hide her 'shapely, slender neck' with all that hair, but as you can see…" she gestured at the sheet of gold that cascaded down below the Princess' shoulder blades, "Zelda has no such inhibitions."

Link cracked a huge grin as he caught sight of Sibella's ladies-in-waiting watching Zelda with ill-disguised envy while the queen herself watched tight-lipped with po-faced disapproval. She might not have been in court very often, but when she was there Zelda was going to make certain that everyone remembered that she was the highest ranked Hylian female in the room.

The first dance was a gentle one, a popular number with an established dance so well known that everyone who danced it could do so without thinking. Throughout the routine, Link's eyes rested on the ethereal form of his lover as she effortlessly floated across the floor with her father. He felt very small and unworthy watching them; despite his years and ailing health King Harkinian was still a very handsome man, and Zelda's near flawless beauty was so dazzling that night that the pair of them might have easily been mistaken for heavenly creatures. Link was so lost in watching them that he hardly registered the end of the dance before he found Zelda crossing the room to be with him.

"Won't you dance with me?" Zelda asked quietly. "Please?"

Link smiled and extended his hand to hers. She placed her palm in his and squeezed it gently as they glided over to the dance-floor. He was vaguely aware of the look of annoyance on Sibella's face and promised himself that he would refuse every offer of a dance from her, consequences be damned. Instead, he turned his attention to his beautiful dance partner and felt overwhelmed at the love he felt for her.

_I don't think I've ever been prouder of you. _

_That is _my _line, my champion knight. _

_You're the most perfect nymph I've ever seen. You look so beautiful._

_I thought you would approve even if no one else did. Mind you, I don't care what anyone else thinks. Tonight I'm yours._

_In that case, tomorrow will arrive far too quickly for my liking._

Zelda sighed lightly as the musicians began with a slow waltz. She felt Link's hand on her waist and her body inexplicably edged closer to his.

_I'm so glad you came back, Link._

_I'm glad you did too. _

She leant towards his ear and whispered softly.

"I'd do anything to stay here a little longer."

"As long as you want," Link murmured. "Come home with me tonight and stay with me forever."

oOo

King Harkinan had lasted most of the evening when he finally retired to bed. Sibella had watched him go with a small smile, genuinely relieved to see him feeling better. The way things stood, the death of her husband would stand her in no good stead at all, and she was not keen to relinquish her title and lose her comfortable life to Zelda.

That night, Sibella didn't think she could possibly hate anyone any more than her. Nobody stole her thunder at her own party and got away with it.

It was also shameful that she, Sibella, had spent all night dancing with all sorts of fawning minor nobles while Zelda had monopolised the tournament champion almost all night. There had been a few dances where they had danced with other people, but most of the night all eyes had been on them. They made a beautiful sight.

Infuriated, Sibella had sought out Dezauras. He was always good at raising her spirits. However, he was nowhere to be seen mingling amongst the guests and Sibella was in no position to go and search for him- she was the hostess after all. Finally, she had spotted him lurking in an alcove, and what she had seen surprised, amused and infuriated her all the more.

Dezauras was staring at the Duchess of Aratea with a look of acquisitive lust.

Sibella knew she could have fun with that when the ball wrapped up.

When everyone had retired to bed and her maids had helped her removed her jewellery and wings, she had dismissed everyone and slunk off in search of Dezauras as soon as the coast was clear.

oOo

The candles in the tree-house flickered with the breeze as Link drew the curtain across the door. Zelda glanced about the small dwelling fondly, touching the Wolfos skin that covered the soft wool blankets on the bed with a smile.

"I can't believe that we're here. It seems so strange."

Link took her hand and squeezed it.

"I know. I've… I've never been with anyone in my own bed before."

"Then it just makes tonight all the more special."

They kissed briefly, a sweet embrace that lasted moments.

"It's raining," Zelda said quietly.

"It is? I hadn't noticed."

"You never do."

Zelda ran her fingers through his hair, letting her nails brush his scalp. He moaned lightly and took her hand in his, kissing her palm as he brought it to his lips.

"I suppose I'll have to let you keep me a little longer."

Link smiled and brushed her tousled hair away from her face. She leant her cheek into his touch, grabbing his hand and stroking the knuckles with a gentle sweep of the thumb.

"You could stay, you know."

"Link…"

"What? Don't go, stay with me tonight. No one will know you're gone, and I'd get you back before you were missed. Please Zelda? I hate waking up without you."

He kissed her again, this time with more urgency and she responded.

"I'll stay as long as it rains," she murmured.

"Then I'll play the Song of Storms all night if I have to," Link replied with a grin.

oOo

He wanted _so_ much to loathe her, but in the end it only served to make him desire her all the more.

Dezauras saw Zelda's face every time he closed her eyes, saw her body in that beautiful dress, her flawless naked back, her bare arms through the flimsy green sleeves… and he hated her all the more for making him feel this way.

He was barely aware of someone knocking on his door and unthinkingly went to answer it.

"You want her don't you?"

Sibella's voice was cool and mocking, stoking the blaze of Dezauras' temper with every smooth word.

"Do not speak of things you know nothing about," he snapped.

The laugh that returned was brittle, mirthless.

"I am a woman my lord, I know far more about these things that you could ever hope to." She smiled and stepped closer, her expression strangely triumphant. "It drives you crazy doesn't it? You can have anything you want, _anyone _you want, but she won't have you will she? Not dear little Zelda, not our prissy cousin with her heavenly smile and her winged words and her perfect skin and her-"

"_Silence_."

Sibella laughed merrily, her laughter echoing around the minister's sparse bedchamber.

"Ah ha! Here, here I've touched a nerve, here's a chink in the impenetrable armour of Lord Dezauras. I bet it rankled you to distraction didn't it? Seeing her smiled for everyone but you, watching her dance with every man but you, _knowing_ that she would never let you touch her the way that you fantasise about touching her as long as there was breath in her perfect little body. Oof!"

Dezauras had risen to his feet and in one fluid motion grabbed her wrists to slam her back against the wall, momentarily winding her.

"I told you to be silent, you miserable woman," he hissed.

Sibella's dark eyes met his defiantly.

"You're pathetic," she jeered. "You're like a little dog fawning over its master. No matter how hard you get kicked little mongrel, you always come crawling back for more and you're never going to get that petting you're after."

"Be silent."

"She _loathes _you, Dezauras. She can't bear you to be near her. You turn her stomach. She is disgusted by you."

"I have asked you to hold your tongue, it would be wise for you to do as you are told."

When she glared back at him, Dezauras' grip tightened on her wrists until she sucked in a breath through her teeth.

"If I am the dog, then you are the bitch on heat."

The queen's face darkened in fury as she fought to free her hands.

"Let go of me."

"Whose nerves are touched now, Sibella? Can't stand to hear the truth?"

"Be sure to let me know when you start speaking it," she snarled.

Dezauras snorted in amusement.

"You want it? You are worthless. You are a laughing stock. You are a barren whore trying pathetically to snare an unsuspecting lover. This-" he sneered, grabbing the low square neckline of her dress disdainfully, "is cheap and impresses no one. _You _impress no one, you vapid fool. You are no queen, you're a little girl playing at being queen, but now the people have seen how a real woman and a true queen conducts herself, they won't stand for your petty little games."

"And we're back to Zelda!" Sibella crowed. "A real woman you say? How would you know? You only know her in your fantasies."

She inched her bust closer to his hands.

"What would you do if she was here now, Dezauras? If you had her at your mercy like this? Would you try to win her with flattery or would you pass out from the shock of being near a 'real woman?'"

Dezauras' eyes were dark with fury.

"Don't mock me."

"Aw, I've really dug too close to the surface here. Poor Dezauras, I pity you."

His composure snapped. Face white with rage, he slapped the heavily rouged cheek before him and sent the woman sprawling to the ground.

"I warned you!"

Sibella's face had lost all trace of its arrogant, haughty expression. Her hand, trembling violently, came up to her cheek and covered the brilliant scarlet mark that had been left there. She winced before turning her face to him with such anger in her eyes it surprised him.

"How dare you? How _dare _you! How dare you raise your hand to me? You're nothing!"

"_How **dare** you threaten me? You're nothing."_

The fury in her eyes disarmed him, as did the sound of her voice. For a moment, a shadow of Zelda had crossed her face and in that moment his anger was replaced by something more carnal, more consuming.

"You should not cross me Sibella," he whispered, walking towards her. "I can be a dangerous man."

Sibella just had time to register the change in him before he seized her shoulders. Outrage, disbelief and panic jostled in her mind as he kissed her roughly and dragged her mutely to his bed.

oOo

_You love him._

That persistent voice in the back of Zelda's mind spoke up again, breaking through the waves of euphoria that washed over her as she lay gasping beneath Link's body and fighting for breath. She found she was becoming less willing to ignore it as it seemed to have drowned out all traces of the voice of reason. For the umpteenth time that month Zelda found herself throwing caution to the wind.

"I love you Link," she whispered as they panted together. "I love you."

Link's eyes went wide for a moment as he stared down at her before he kissed her desperately, leaving her once against struggling to breathe.

"You don't know," he murmured, "how long I've wanted to hear you say that."

She looked up at him in surprise.

"I…"

"I know I shouldn't feel this way about you," he confessed. "But I can't remember a time when I didn't. Love you, that is. I've been in love with you for years, but I didn't realise until it was too late. I love you."

Neither spoke for a while afterwards, taking time to register the sudden yet inevitable change in their relationship. After a while, Zelda shifted in a half-hearted move to get up.

"What are you doing?"

Link's arms around her waist tightened.

"It'll be morning soon, the candles have almost gone out."

"So?"

"So I ought to be going. I'll be missed."

"Don't go," Link murmured against her shoulder. "Stay."

She needed no persuading and wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling against the crook of his neck and inhaling the scent of his flesh.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"I love you more," Zelda laughed.

"No, _I_ love _you_ more," he replied, teasing her with dozens of quick little kisses and a voice pitched in nauseating falsetto. "But if you're trying to turn us all mushy and disgusting like those two lovebirds in Castle Town then I'm going to have to change my mind."

Zelda squeaked as he lightly spanked her behind and then wriggled her way free of his grasp, sitting up and drawing the sheets across her chest.

"You're evil!"

"But you love me," he pointed out.

"Momentary lapse of judgement on my part, I assure you."

"Of course, whatever you say."

"I do say."

Link smiled and lay back against the pillows with a smirk until he noticed her frown.

"You ok?"

"Mmm…"

Her eyes were downcast until his hand cupped her cheek.

"It'll be alright Zel, I promise."

"How can you promise me something like that?" she whispered. "We should never have let it get this far Link, we're only going to get hurt."

"Zelda…"

He put his other hand behind her head and drew her closer to him. Gently, he kissed her mouth, her nose, her eyelashes.

"I don't care," he murmured. "The thought of not being with you hurts me more."

"You know," Zelda sighed as he eased her back down onto the mattress, "you can be very sweet sometimes..."

"That's entirely your fault. Gods Zelda," he breathed as he basked in her naked beauty, "I love you so much."

The candles were well and truly burnt out by the time they finally fell asleep as one in a tangled, unbreakable embrace.

oOo

"I am a genius. Where they define genius, there will be a picture of my lovely face and a summary of all my achievements of epic and phenomenal proportions."

Impa bit back her irritation and a yawn as she opened the door to a very pleased looking Nabooru.

"If you could rein your ego in for a moment Nabooru, perhaps you'd like to tell me what in Din's name you're carrying on about, and why you're trying to break down my door at this ungodly hour? And try to keep your voice down, my nephew's asleep."

Nabooru could recognise when Impa was displeased. First it began with the Sheikah folding her arms across her chest, then her left foot would twitch intermittently. Finally her jaw would clench and she would grip her forearms before shooting a steely look in ones general direction before letting loose with a barbed comment designed to wrong foot. Fortunately, Nabooru had spent years fighting off the displeasure of not only Ganondorf but his frighteningly frustrating foster-mothers, so she was well equipped to combat one mildly irritated Sheikah.

"As of the night of our festival, I was proved one hundred percent correct. Tell me, have you noticed how generally cheerful and laid back our noble leader the Sage of Wisdom has been of late?"

Impa's hands released her forearms and came to rest on her hips.

"What do you think you've done now, Nabooru?"

"Oh _I _haven't done anything," she assured her friend with an irrepressible grin. "It's Link who's done the Princess."

"_What?_"

"Perhaps that's too crude. I believe that those two have taken their friendship onto a physical plain to join their spiritual and emotional connection."

Impa's face betrayed no readable expression.

"When did this happen?"

"Like I said, on the night of the festival. I would have come to tell you earlier, but with Aveil's broken leg I've been run ragged trying to do two people's work. It's a nightmare Impa, I tell you…"

"I don't care about your workload! They're lovers?"

"Well I'd certainly hope so, otherwise one of my girls bedded him and that's just disturbing."

"But it's alright for _my _girl to?"

Nabooru, normally so good at reading people, missed the little flash of anger in Impa's eyes.

"Of course! Those two have been secretly in love with each other for years, they just needed a little nudge in the right direction."

"Why do I get the feeling that you _shoved _them into bed together?"

"Oh come Impa, would I do something like that?"

"You might claim to hold the title of genius, but subtlety is _not _one of your traits, Nabooru. Nor is genius."

"Oh come now, that's a little bit harsh isn't it?"

Impa's lips pursed tightly together.

"No it is not. You've just made things a damn sight worse."

oOo

Sibella had only just caught her breath when Dezauras threw her dress at her. Hurt and offended, she clung to it and used it to cover up her nakedness.

"So you're going to throw me out now, are you?"

"That _is _what one is supposed to do with a whore."

The queen flinched as though she had been physically struck.

"I never asked for this," she said quietly, her head bowed.

"Didn't you?" Dezauras sneered, turning on her with malice in his eyes. "So parading yourself like a cheap painted harlot and making sheep eyes at every man with a pulse is 'not asking?' This is exactly what you were looking for when you came alone to my room in the dead of night."

"If you're so superior to me then why did you fall for it?" Sibella snapped. "I thought brilliant men like you didn't like _cheap harlots._ Well how wrong was I? If you find me _so_ repellent Dezauras, why did you just rut with me like I was some prize brood mare?"

The minister's dark eyes flashed angrily as he glared at her.

"Get out. You've done what you came here to do. Leave me."

Sibella stood for a second longer before she left the room, her cheeks burning scarlet with fury and embarrassment. Dezauras took a moment to compose himself, reaching for a glass of water to sip as he regained his thoughts.

_If I couldn't have Zelda, Sibella, _you _were the next best thing._


	22. Drifting

Disclaimer: Legend of Zelda is property of the almighty Nintendo. I don't own it, certainly not in this timeline, but if the split timeline is theory is to be believed, then who knows?

AN: Another horrific delay, I'm so sorry everyone. This chapter just wasn't endearing itself to me, and after much consideration I've realised I was trying to have too much happen in it and the pacing was all wrong, so I've cut it down and will stick another chapter in to cover what I've left out. Here's hoping it won't be another five months until I get round to it! (Just kidding. Really.)

Yeah, so reasons for the delay are uni, other commitments, lack of internet at home over the summer and surgery. I think that about covers it!

As I'm behind on the plot at this point in the story, Part III will now begin in Chapter 25.

Vagabond

Part II: The Past

Chapter 22: Drifting

Link was too happy to sleep.

He lay there quietly, brushing her hair away from her face while she slept peacefully beside him, her body perfectly fitted to his arms. Smiling softly, he kissed the top of her head and waited for the tiny, secret smile that always claimed her beautiful face every time such a kiss was received. He was the only one who ever saw it.

"I love you," he whispered.

Her eyelids flickered before her immense eyes opened and stared up into his eyes.

"I love you too," she murmured softly.

He smiled and leant in for a more satisfying kiss from her, one she eagerly responded to. Her arms curled around his neck and gently toyed with the soft hair at his nape, sending shivers up his spine.

"How long have I been asleep for?"

"Not long," he replied. "Couple of hours perhaps."

"That long?" she laughed. "You should have woken me earlier."

"But then I wouldn't have been able to see you sleeping," came the argument. "You look so peaceful, I just fall in love with you all over again."

She laughed again and propped herself up on her elbow.

"I think you're turning into a romantic."

"I can afford to be when I'm with you."

"Gods, I hope you don't turn into a sap!"

He looked deeply contemplative for a while.

"Oh I don't know. Depends how long I love you for."

She looked puzzled until he wrapped his arms around her waist and laid her on her back.

"In case you were wondering how long that was going to be," he teased, kissing her throat. "I mean forever."

"Forever will never be long enough," she sighed.

They made love with their bodies illuminated by the moonlight, fighting the onset of the dawn that they knew would arrive too soon.

oOo

Impa tossed and turned all night, battling the raging thoughts and doubts that crashed through her mind until the first signs of dawn crept in at her window and she heard Dayne begin to stir in his bed.

"_I believe that those two have taken their friendship onto a physical plain to join their spiritual and emotional connection."_

Of all the things that Nabooru could have told the Sheikah, those few words were the ones that she had longed for and dreaded for years. It wasn't that Impa disliked Link, in fact she cared deeply for the boy like a kind of surrogate aunt, but at the same time she was a surrogate mother to Zelda and her priorities had to lie with her girl's wellbeing. She knew that someday she could be faced with a dilemma much like the one she was faced with now.

Her fears had begun to take root years earlier, mere hours after she had taken the little boy from the castle and sent him on his way to Kakariko. Zelda had been quiet and thoughtful all evening, answering questions with one word answers and spending hours with a book and not turning a single page.

"You aren't with me this evening, princess."

"No. I'm with Link."

Even then the child had spoken the boy's name like a prayer. Impa had thought little of it then, interpreting the girl's reverence to be an embodiment of the relief she felt now that her longed for saviour had gained a face and a name. It was not the sort of saviour Impa had envisaged, nor had he impressed her if she were honest, but her faith in her ward was absolute, and if Zelda said that he was to save Hyrule then save Hyrule he would, and she would do all in her power to come to his aid.

"You truly believe him to be the one?"

"In time," Zelda had said softly. "He will be greater than any other man I've met. It has to be him."

"He's a child, princess."

"He's going to be a great man, far greater than any other I know." Even in those days when the Triforce did not reside within her, Zelda spoke with a resonance that defied her years. "And I will do everything I can to protect him, because he will do the same for me."

As she grew into a woman, the affection deepened. Impa remembered a day when she had followed Sheik, a Sheik still unused to the strange new body and clumsy in the shadows, to the Temple of Time.

"It's madness for you to be here."

"I have to be here. When he wakes up, I need to be with him."

"Rauru promised you that he would let you know when that was. You can't endanger yourself like this."

Zelda had looked at her then with those strange new eyes, and Impa had seen desperation in them.

"It's like… being near him makes me hopeful again. I don't dare bring myself to hope unless I see that he's well and alive."

Impa had had an inkling then, coupled with a sense of dim foreboding, that Zelda's childish attachment to a strange boy had shifted to something more, even if she hadn't recognised it.

Now the two were lovers, and she, Impa, was frightened.

If Nabooru had come to her and told her that Zelda had found a lover amongst the ranks of the nameless, good looking courtiers then it might have been better. She would have lectured her former mistress on the recklessness of her behaviour to be sure, but ultimately it would have been better to have formed a harmless attachment with someone else than to take a relationship that was already too close and take it beyond into dangerous territory.

By the time the first Cucco crowed to herald the break of dawn, Impa had already decided that she needed to step in before Zelda's heart could be broken.

oOo

Link woke with his body pressed against Zelda's having burrowed his nose into the hollow of her throat and spent the entire night wrapped around her. The sunlight filtered through the window, dancing across their naked bodies. The blanket had slipped to the ground in the night, un-mourned by the lovers who had been kept warm by each other. Zelda was watching him dreamily, and smiled a slow, contented smile as she realised he was awake.

"Good morning sleepyhead," she murmured, kissing his brow tenderly. "I was wondering when you'd wake up."

He blinked sleepily before cracking a jaw-breaking yawn and writhing into a stretch. His arms hovered above his head for a moment before he brought them back down and wrapped them around Zelda's body. She smiled and wriggled into his embrace, seeking his mouth for a kiss.

"Morning, you're in a good-" he broke off to yawn again. "Mood."

"Why shouldn't I be? I woke up in the arms of the man I love. Suddenly everything is wonderful and I'm the happiest woman in the world." She smiled as she brushed her hands over his chest. "Have I told you that I love you?"

"You might have mentioned that, yes," Link remarked, caressing her bare back. "But you haven't _this morning_…"

"I thought I just did."

"Oh? So you did. Well in that case I owe you." He kissed her and pulled her onto his lap as he sat up, feeling his need for her grow. "I love you."

"Hmm." Zelda rewarded his admission with a beautiful smile followed by series of hot, open mouthed kisses that began by his ear and travelled down his jaw-line.

"We really need to find a way to do this more often," he murmured, relishing in the feel of her lips against his skin. "I can't believe it's this late already."

"I don't care. I'm not leaving until I've made love to you."

Her touching had just begun to get more heated when the sound of a pair of booted feet on the balcony caused both of them to freeze, followed by the sound of a familiar voice.

"Link? Link, are you awake yet?"

"_Shit!_" He sat bolt upright as Zelda groped desperately for something to cover her nakedness before their unexpected visitor walked in. She had just managed to do so when Saria stopped dead in her tracks in the door.

"Oh! Oh my, I'm so sorry. Oh. I'll come back later…"

She beat a rapid retreat before either of them could say anything. For a few moments they were totally silent before Link laughed nervously.

"Um… that was awkward."

Zelda's face was ashen.

"That did not just happen. Please tell me that didn't happen."

"I wish I could."

"Damn it." She raked her fingers through her hair and began muttering to herself. "I knew this was too good to be true. Things couldn't stay this good forever."

"Zelda what are you talking about? It was just Saria! Come on, who's she going to tell who wouldn't be happy for us?" He put his hand on her shoulder. "I don't think she understood what was going on anyway."

"Didn't you see the look on her face?" Zelda argued. "Of course she knew!"

"Then I'll talk to her and explain. It'll be alright, I promise."

She was sitting very still, staring blankly at her toes. The air seemed cold, fighting away the warmth that she had felt upon waking up. The wall of security she had been carefully building from the moment she had let Link break further into her life seemed less than steady now, cracked and fragile.

Link draped the Wolfos pelt over her shoulders and wrapped her in it.

"You're shaking," he murmured. Please don't. Nymph…"

She turned to him and flung her arms around him, burying her face against his shoulder. He froze for a moment before taking her in his arms and dropping his chin to her shoulder. She snuggled closer to him, letting him calm her with murmured promises and endearments. Zelda felt so much love for him that she shivered again, trying to shake the sense of foreboding that plagued her.

"Look, I'll go and talk to Saria now and get us some breakfast while I'm at it." He pressed a kiss against her temple. "Everything will be alright, I promise you."

"You keep making impossible promises," Zelda whispered. "I wish everything could be alright, but… but right now I'm frightened. I love you so much, and the thought of something ruining everything scares me."

"I won't ever let anything happen to you, you know that," he murmured. "And so what if we're found out? What does it matter? Everyone whose opinion we care about will know we're not in this for kicks."

"It's not _your _reputation on the line though, is it?"

Link was silent for a moment, then he smiled.

"Well I'll just have to make an honest woman of you."

Zelda laughed.

"Now you're just being silly."

"I am not," he retorted petulantly. "We just need Phineas out of the way, then there's nothing to stop us."

"Well he won't put me aside, so there's nothing we can do about him," Zelda said dismissively.

"Who said anything about him putting you aside? Leave him, stay here."

_With me,_ he added mentally.

"If I could do that, I would have left months ago. There's no way out of it, like it or not I am his wife and his wife I'll remain until one of us dies."

She moved to get out of bed, but Link held her in place.

"We are going to find a way," he told her. "And then I'm going to ask you to marry me."

oOo

To everyone who saw her that morning, Sibella seemed to be in low spirits.

"Well it's no surprise. Did you see her when the princess arrived? She went greener than the princess' dress!"

"Still, you'd think she'd be feeling a bit happier now that His Majesty's back on the road to recovery."

The queen pretended that she didn't hear the whispered comments that seemed to follow her wherever she went. When Zelda made her appearance later that morning, looking radiant in a honey coloured gown with her gleaming hair braided away from her face, Sibella was more than a little annoyed to see half of her retinue swarm around her like bees around a honey pot.

That was not what was troubling her though.

Dezauras had walked past her that morning on his way to assembly with the other ministers and she was certain that he had had the audacity to _sneer _at her. She had felt his derision like a smack in the face and had resisted the urge to recoil from his scrutiny. Instead, she forced all of her feelings of annoyance down inside her and raised her head to meet his gaze and was delighted when he looked away first.

_So for all of your indifference Dezauras, you do still feel shame._

That was when Sibella realised that she finally had an advantage over him. All of her bravado the night before had not been for nothing; she had hit a nerve identifying the minister's pitiful lusting over Zelda, and while his reaction to that had taken her unawares she would not allow it to again.

_Although…_

She would not be opposed to a repeat performance. It galled and shamed her to even think that, but there had been something deliciously satisfying about bringing the minister to his knees like that, even if it had not been entirely due to her own merits. Lunch that day had seen Zelda seated on her father's left hand side, herself on the right, and it had not escaped Sibella's notice that Dezauras had spent the entire meal watching the Duchess of Aratea with intense scrutiny. The young woman had not stopped smiling all day, and the fact was beginning to rankle the queen who knew that Zelda should not have anything to be cheerful about.

She considered this a development she would have to pay closer attention to.

oOo

"So, oh great and powerful tournament champion, where did you slink off to last night?"

Link inwardly cursed as he was ambushed by his friends as he made his way to the garden to try and find Zelda. He felt momentarily bad for ditching them, but when it came down to a choice between them and Zelda, there was no competition.

"We wanted to congratulate you," Rollen continued, patting the younger man on the shoulder. "And we thought we might save you from the avaricious clutches of various unsuitable ladies."

Link grinned.

"What if I didn't want to be saved?"

"Then we'd have completely misjudged you," Tarken laughed, falling into place on Link's other side. "And we'd have to seriously question your taste in the fairer sex."

"But anyway, that's not what we wanted to know. Where were you?" Gillum asked.

Link shrugged.

"A real gentleman shouldn't ask his friends that sort of question."

"Our little baby's growing up," Rollen sniffed, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye. "Could it be that you picked yourself a feisty Gerudo lovely when you got that invitation to their festival?"

"Lucky dog," Gillum laughed with a grin.

"That is for me to know and for you to find out," Link answered cryptically. "Anyway, what happened to the sweepstakes? Didn't any of you get targeted?"

"Well no," Rollen sighed, scratching his chin. "Although I know I wouldn't have minded being targeted by Princess Zelda. Gods I had the most wonderful dream about her last night…"

Link almost stopped dead in his tracks and forced himself to keep a neutral expression, even though he found himself suddenly wanting to throttle his friend all of a sudden.

"Rollen, is that all you ever think about?" Gillum snapped. "You've got the most wonderful fiancé and yet you act worse than the queen when it comes to flirting."

Tarken shot Link a sidelong glance.

"He does have a point though, I've never seen anything that beautiful in my life."

_I have,_ Link's inner monologue piped up. _When she's not wearing that dress and she's lying with her hair fanned out all over my pillow, when her cheeks are flushed and she's smiling _that _smile she keeps only for me. And then, when we're-_

"Good morning gentlemen."

Link was brought rudely out of his daydream by the imposing figure of Impa, who had appeared from nowhere and was standing in their path with her arms crossed in front of her and a stern look on her face.

A stern look directed right at him.

Rollen shifted nervously and stood stiffly to attention.

"Good morning Mistress Sheikah, and what can we do for you this fine-"

"I need to speak with Link. In private."

There was something terse about her manner and Link suddenly found himself thinking back to his encounter with Saria that morning.

"_Saria, you know what you just saw…"_

"_I _think _I know what I just saw. I didn't think that it was a good idea to be doing that sort of thing if you weren't married."_

"_Well, it kind of isn't."_

"_So why do it then?"_

"_Because we're in love."_

Saria had beamed then and hugged him, promising excitedly that she wouldn't tell a soul.

So why the hell did Impa look like she was going to eat him alive?

He apprehensively agreed to meet her in Kakariko after lunch.

oOo

King Harkinian was delighted when Mentes decided to drop in and visit him mid-morning after his customary daily visit from his daughter. Zelda's good mood had brushed off on him; he was feeling refreshed and happy, with the old glimmer once again back in his eyes as he greeted his friend.

"Do you think I would be wise to consider doing something revolutionary?"

Mentes was surprised by the king's question and tried unsuccessfully to keep his feelings from his face. King Harkinian smiled and laughed.

"You appear worried my friend. Should I not be thinking such things?"

"Your Majesty is at liberty to think what he wants," Mentes replied, pleased to see the monarch back in good spirits. "But I have to wonder what help I can be in the matter; I never was much of a revolutionary."

"I think you will find this to be the sort of idea you would approve of, and I entrust you researching to see if it is something that can be done without having to upset things."

It was something that he would never have considered a year earlier but now he found that the idea had taken seed and was growing like crazy in his mind.

"I'm happy to be of service," Mentes replied, bowing his head.

"It must be done in a way that would arouse no suspicion. You know that I am not a paranoid man, Mentes."

"Indeed not sire."

"Then you will not think it of me now if I voice my concerns that someone in my court means me harm."

The king examined the old tutor's face, waiting to see any hint of scepticism that might be there. Mentes met his eye without any such trace.

"I have heard of far more implausible things than that," he said quietly.

King Harkinian closed his eyes for a moment, breathing heavily through his nose. He had recovered a great deal, but the weariness of spirit that Mentes had recognised before in his friend was still there.

"I can find the means to deal with that, but these last few weeks have made me realise that I need to do something that will safeguard my country from ruin should I die before then. I need you find a way to make Zelda my regent."

"Regent?" Mentes stared at him in disbelief. "Your Majesty, I know that she would be more than able to fulfil the position but such a thing is unprecedented! You will have an outcry from the traditionalists, it will-"

"Anyone within the council who disapproves will be dismissed. She has proven her worth again and again, and those who are wise will see that this is the best decision for Hyrule."

"Duke Phineas will not be so easy to accept as your replacement, with all due respect."

"This I have already considered, and I think that we can work our way around it. I long to tell my daughter of my intent but I cannot bring myself to do so until I have something concrete to offer her, therefore I need your word that you will not tell her or anyone else that I discussed this with you. This is imperative."

Mentes nodded solemnly.

"You have it."

oOo

Impa closed the door behind Link as he walked into her house. She watched him move thoughtfully, seeking out traces of the little boy she had grown so fond of in his adult body. Privately she wished that he was still that child, and Zelda still that same little girl so that she could keep them both safe from disaster, but she knew it to be a futile wish. They had ceased to be children the day they had met. The boy had grown to become a man, the girl a woman, all before their eleventh birthdays. They had sought solace from each other, both suffering under their shared burden, and that comfort had become a deep friendship.

And now, Impa had come to understand fully how dangerous and wonderful that relationship was.

"You've been intimate with the Princess, haven't you?" she asked.

Link's cheerful smile evaporated and his entire body grew stiff.

"Excuse me?"

"Zelda. You've slept with her."

He shifted his weight, adopting a defensive pose.

"I have no idea what you're-"

"I am not a fool, I have eyes, but I need to hear it from you," the Sheikah explained, her eyes meeting his. "You and Zelda are lovers. Am I wrong?"

Link said nothing, glaring evenly at the Sheikah without offering any answer. She had expected such a response.

"I really don't see why that is any of your business."

"Zelda _is_ my business and she has been hurt enough. For all her wisdom she is still very young in this world and the way that this time has shaped out for her has been unkind. She is very insecure and she is very unhappy. I love her like my own child, I will not stand by and watch someone she cares so deeply for callously break her heart."

"You obviously don't have a very high opinion of me, do you Impa?" He folded his arms, his eyes narrowed. "Nor do you know me very well if that thought entered your mind. I would cut out my own heart and feed it to a flock of Guay before I ever hurt her."

"So you do _care_ for her?" she persisted.

"No," he corrected. "I love her."

Impa sighed with relief and nodded.

"I had hoped that was the case, I just needed to be sure. I'm sorry, I overreacted. I'm just so scared for you both, this is reckless game you're playing."

"It's not a game."

"Isn't it? What are you possibly going to achieve from this?"

The young man, still on the defensive, looked at her harshly.

"It's not about me, it's about her. I make her happy, that's all I've ever wanted."

"No one's that selfless Link," Impa retorted. "And what about her? Have you even stopped to consider what this affair is doing to her? It can't go on, you must know that."

"You're asking me to give her up?" Link's voice was calm but his face betrayed his building anger. "I won't do that Impa."

"I'm not-"

"No, you'll hear me out. I'm not a kid anymore, I stopped being a kid a long, _long _time ago and I don't need to be treated like one and told what to do."

The authority in Link's voice stunned Impa into silence. She sat down and looked at him thoughtfully.

"Zelda and I are not children. We don't need you or anyone else to tell us how to live our lives, and I won't be told who I can be with. Everything I've ever done," he continued, "I've done for her sake. Whenever things got bad and I found myself asking 'why?' I would see her face in my head and it gave me the will and the strength to carry on. I can't look at her and see her in pain because it literally hurts me. I've waited a lifetime for her, don't ask me to wait any longer."

The Sheikah woman sighed and leant against the back of her chair.

"You really do love her, don't you?" She smiled to herself and gestured to the chair opposite her. "Sit down Link."

He did so, still tensed and defensive.

"Would you save her from herself? If she goes back to Aratea and that useless excuse for a man, she'll be lost to us. It might be harder this time around, thanks to you, but if Phineas breaks her down again then we might not be able to bring her back."

Link scowled at the memory of the wretched girl he had fought so hard to revive and balled his fists subconsciously.

"Then I'll go with her and break _him_ if he even looks at her funny," he growled.

Impa sighed.

"Link, think with your brain and not your ego."

Link frowned.

"What can I do?"

"For the sake of the gods, don't do any more than you already have. Can't you see how much of a nightmare it would be if anyone else found out about you? You giving her lessons in the art of the sword is more than enough to get you two talked about without people realising you're giving her something else on the side."

"There's no need to be crude. Besides, we're careful, no one knows. OK, so you and Saria know but-"

"Me, Saria _and_ Nabooru."

"What?"

"She seems to think she was instrumental in getting you two together."

Link seemed to mull the possibility of this over in his head before grinning a little sheepishly.

"Come to think of it, she very probably was."

"You're still missing the point I'm trying to make here, Link. What happens if Zelda stays here for months? Have you even stopped to think about what you've been doing?"

"We're in love. What's so wrong about being together and expressing that? We're both adults, we know what we're doing."

"How can you be so naïve? Younger boys than you have been made fathers by thinking in that exact same way, and while I would love for Zelda to have a child someday even you can understand that if she were to get pregnant when her husband is miles away that it would be disastrous."

Link opened his mouth to protest but was silenced by a hard look from Impa.

"I'm asking you to please demonstrate some restraint and stop rushing things. There will be a time for you two to be together but now is not it. Be patient."

Link frowned.

"You should try patience when you're in my shoes. You don't know how she can-"

"That is not something I want to discuss," Impa interrupted. "I'm going to chose not to think of you two that way for as long as I possibly can."

She sighed.

"I am happy for you two, but you must see that nothing good can come of this affair right now. Please, you have to rethink it before you get into a world of trouble. Do you know what happens when an Aratean wife is found to have a lover? Her husband has every right to punish her as he sees fit. Her name would be worse than mud. She'd be called a whore Link, and she'd be stoned for adultery or worse. Could you live with yourself if that happened?"

He shook his head slowly.

"Then please, I beg of you, don't let this get any more out of hand than it already has. Bide your time and wait, I know that things will resolve themselves."

Link nodded, which seemed to placate Impa, but internally he was already coming up with an alternative, any alternative, that would keep Zelda with him. Having woken up with her in his arms once, he'd be damned if he had to spend another night alone.

oOo

Malon was feeling considerably better, having finally sweated out her fever in the night and cleared the fuzziness in her head. She was also cheered up by reports of Link's victory and a visit from a thoroughly over-excited Dayne who came bearing a massive basket of blackberries.

"My Mam always used to make me blackberry tea when I was sick," he told her. "It made me feel a lot better. I thought maybe you'd like some."

Malon smiled at the boy's thoughtfulness.

"Dayne honey, you are an absolute sweetheart."

"No I'm not," he protested. "I'm very butch and manly."

For a moment he had sounded so much like Link defending his Kokiri tunic that Malon had to laugh.

"You have obviously been spending far too much time around Link, you're starting to sound just like him."

"Pah, not lately," Dayne grumbled. "He's always off doing 'knight stuff' or helping Princess Zelda learn how to fight with a sword. I haven't hung out with him for ages."

Malon frowned.

"He's teaching the princess? When did this start?"

"Last week. Princess Zelda asked him to teach her swordplay. Aunt Impa thinks it's a great idea."

"Really?"

"Yeah, she says that the princess needs to know how to take herself living with that great boar. I didn't think she lived on a pig farm."

Malon smiled in spite of herself.

"I think she's talking about the princess' husband Dayne. He didn't seem like a very nice person to me."

"Oh." Dayne looked a little upset by this revelation, as if he had conjured images of the princess doing battle with an evil pig beast and had suddenly had his hopes dashed. "Well Link's taking it really seriously anyway. I tried to get him to take me fishing two days ago and he said he couldn't."

"Dayne, that was the day before the tournament. He was probably too busy practicing."

"No," he protested, "I waited until he'd done all his practice and he _still _wouldn't take me."

Malon frowned and then put her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it short-stuff, once the princess goes back to her home then he'll be back to normal again. Just wait and see."

oOo

"I can't believe you're actually letting that _thing _near you."

Zelda frowned at him.

"What?"

"_That_ thing."

Link made a futile gesture with his hands in the direction of a big bush covered in purple berries.

"Link, I have no quarrel with the bush. You might but…"

"Not the bush- the cat!"

Zelda followed his gaze and rolled her eyes as she caught sight of the ginger cook's cat carefully licking his paws among the foliage.

"You cannot still harbour feelings of resentment for that cat, what did he ever do to you?"

"Look at it," Link protested. "Tell me that it doesn't remind you of someone."

"Oh Nayru…"

"It's Ganondorf incarnate!"

"It's a cat."

"Yes but-"

His loud protestations were silenced by a fingertip being pressed against his lips.

"Link, I love you and all but you really are paranoid to the point of neuroses."

He met her gaze with sheepish sincerity.

"But…"

"But nothing." She smiled and brushed a wisp of hair out of his eyes. "Now let's not talk about that stupid animal and enjoy each other's company."

Link sighed and shrugged, casting one last suspicious look in the cat's direction, a move that was caught by the princess. She laughed and shoved him lightly, while he smiled sheepishly at her and made a grab for her hand.

"Hey, I have something for you."

"Hmm, I'll bet you do."

"Come on Zel, I'm being serious here."

He led her through the quiet gardens towards the courtyard where he had left Epona. She pricked up her ears as he approached and whinnied softly, earning a pat and a scratch behind her ears from her master. Link reached for something attached to his saddle bags and handed it to his lover. It was long and thin, wrapped in brown canvas.

"What's this?"

"Why don't you unwrap it and see?"

She untied the thick brown cord and carefully peeled back the cloth before gasping at what was revealed to her.

"Blessed Nayru!"

Beneath the cloth was a beautifully crafted scabbard made of thick, aubergine coloured leather and inlaid gold filigree. It in itself was a beautiful thing indeed, but the handle of the sword it contained showed that it was not the only thing of beauty being presented to her. She drew the sword reverently and gasped at the beauty of the silver blade and its delicately made hilt.

"Link-"

"I had it made for you, Biggoron was more than happy to help. Is it alright?"

"Alright? Link, it's perfect!" She tested the blade, making a few swipes and feeling nothing but sheer _rightness_ from holding it. "Gods. Now I know what you meant. This sword is as right for me as you are."

She sheathed it lovingly and went to him, her eyes shining.

"I love it, but I love you more."

Link felt his mind grow hazy as she kissed him. He traced the curve of her cheek with his fingertips, ingraining the feel of her skin upon his memory.

"It had to be good enough to protect you when I can't be there. When you go back."

Zelda's eyes met his sharply.

"I- I don't want to talk about it."

"Well _I _do. Someday soon he's going to send for you or come and get you, and then what's going to happen?"

"I don't wan-"

"For Farore's sake Zelda, you never want to talk about it! Can't you understand? I'm going to lose you and I can't stand it."

Zelda took a step back, her eyes wide.

"You will _never_ lose me. I will always, always love you. Nobody can take me from you, not in here." She pressed her hand against his heart, her eyes on his. "But I can't be yours, not when I don't belong to myself, no matter how hard we've been trying to pretend otherwise."

"I hate it."

She squeezed his hand gently.

"Do you remember what I asked you last year? When I asked you if you wondered about how life would be if I hadn't sent us back."

"I asked you the same thing," he said quietly. "And you said 'sometimes.'"

"I've thought about it a lot over the last year. And… now I wish I hadn't. I think I regret that more than any other decision I have ever had to make."

"I thought you might say something like that."

"Why's that?"

Link lowered his eyes, fixing his gaze on their entwined fingers.

"I was in love with you even then. We would have had no obstacles in our way."

Zelda nodded.

"You've been thinking the same thing."

"Yes."

They were silent for a moment longer before he finally tested the water.

"So why don't we just do it then? Why don't we run away?"

"If only it could be that simple," Zelda sighed. "But you know that can never happen."

Link's confrontation with Impa was still fresh in his memory, and while he knew that the older woman spoke sense he just couldn't face the prospect of giving Zelda up.

"It could," he persisted. "We could run and never look back. Make a clean break of it."

"Oh my love, nothing would make me happier but we both know it's impossible." She reached for his cheek and was hurt when he turned his face from her. "We would never be able to drop our guard for a moment. We would make the plans and everything would be wonderful, but when it came to the crunch you know that neither of us would be able to go through with it. You'd never leave Saria and the Kokiri, and the ranch and your responsibilities, and I could never leave Hyrule."

Jealousy, irrational and possessive, swelled in Link's belly. He knew he would always come in second to Hyrule.

"Hyrule survived without you before you were born, and it will continue to survive long after we're dead and buried. Zelda please, just be selfish for once and do something for you. Come on, _please_."

Zelda's hand cupped his cheek as she turned his face to hers.

"It's a beautiful fantasy, but it's one we could never allow ourselves to turn into a reality. We're not selfish people Link, we could never abandon everything that we fought so hard to save."

_Well what we fought to save barely exists now anyway, _he wanted to say, but couldn't face the prospect of getting into a fight.

"I must go, I have an audience to attend," Zelda murmured softly. "Find me later?"

He nodded dumbly and kissed her lightly on the lips. She responded sweetly and gave his hand a gentle squeeze as she walked away.

"If I lose you, then I'll lose myself," he muttered, watching as she vanished from sight.

oOo

Dezauras was heartily relieved that Sibella had not gone out of her way to see him that day, and he did not entirely trust himself to not do something he would regret later. His lack of control the night before disgusted him- he had behaved like some sort of mongrel chasing after a bitch in heat; even now he still did not understand what had come over him.

The king had been steadily recovering but his absence was still notable at council meetings as the princess continued to place herself at the head of the table and conduct proceedings with admirable efficiency and authority. Some of the old school ministers, those who liked to consider Dezauras their champion and spokesperson, remained less than impressed by this and many boycotted out of principle. Zelda would notice this, take note of the empty seats and politely request that the castle scribe copy out minutes to be sent to the absentees before smiling that winning smile of hers and calling the audience into session.

Today was just the same, as Zelda in her golden gown sat herself confidently in her seat and smiled slightly as she noticed the number of empty seats had lessened considerably since the last meeting. Dezauras fought a scowl and tried his hardest not to glare at her. Once again, her hair was hanging by her shoulders, and what had been a teasing gesture the night before spoke volumes in the chancellery. Dezauras cleared his throat.

"I was unaware that Her Grace had been elevated to the status of queen."

The entire hall went silent.

Zelda folded her hands demurely in her lap and angled her head to one side.

"I do not believe that something as trivial as one's hair should hold any bearing on how that person is regarded in court. Besides, it is not as though my hair is causing any harm." She smiled again. "I was under the impression that only the pettiest of court ladies really bothered about fashion rules anyway."

Several ministers chuckled and Dezauras felt the sting of her derision flare his temper. He could tell that she was watching him as though she was waiting for his retaliation, and he had never been one to disappoint.

"Perhaps an Aratean should not be so quick to pour scorn on _Hylian _court practice."

"Now see here!" One of the ministers had risen from his seat and was glaring at Dezauras furiously. "You sir are out of line."

"How dare you speak so to our princess?" Another piped in.

"My thanks to you Lord Tuval, Lord Olwen." Zelda's voice rang out clearly over the angry buzzing of her supporters and Dezauras'. "Your support is appreciated. Lord Dezauras, you will rise."

She was standing herself, waiting for him to obey her. Feeling the eyes of everyone in the room upon him, Dezauras got to his feet and met her gaze.

"Perhaps you would be so good as to share your opinions with the rest of the chancellery," she said coldly. "I myself would be fascinated to hear what you truly think, as clearly your view of me must be somewhat negative to warrant such outbursts from such a normally restrained man."

Dezauras bit back a sneer.

"I do not have to justify myself to a mere woman, regardless of who her father might be. What makes you think that you are capable of ruling men such as us? Your concerns, _princess, _should stick to the running of your household and bringing forth sons for your husband, not running a country where you are no longer a citizen."

The outcry was deafening.

"How dare you!?"

Zelda held up her hand to call for silence.

"Excuse me gentlemen, but I need no man to fight my battles for me. Lord Dezauras is entitled to his own opinion, no matter how offensive and misguided I might find it." She sighed before fixing Dezauras with a look so fierce he had to fight the urge to shrink back from it. "I was born Princess Zelda Aurelia of Hyrule and I will die Zelda Aurelia of Hyrule, no matter what name or title my husband might have, and no husband or children of mine will ever take precedence over the duty I hold to my father's kingdom. My _household, _as you put it, will someday be this kingdom and if I do not learn to care for it now then that will make me a poor excuse for a queen. If you have any other complaints then raise them with my father. For now, _Lord _Dezauras, I strongly suggest you retire from this audience as you clearly are in no disposition to be productive."

For a moment Dezauras met her gaze and held it, remaining motionless and unaware of the tension in the council chamber. Zelda betrayed no emotion, keeping her anger well hidden, but he could swear he felt it radiating off her in waves. Finally he shrugged and tossed his head.

"Clearly I have offended your female sensitivities," he admitted, offering her a bow that would have been considered respectful had it been to anyone other than Zelda. "By your leave I will retire."

Zelda acknowledged him by straightening her spine and pursing her lips.

_You do not know who you are dealing with, woman,_ he thought furiously. _And you have made a serious mistake in shaming me this day._

He managed to keep his composure until he was out of the building.

"I'll make that damned woman pay if it's the last thing I do!" he seethed.

As he stormed away towards his apartments, he failed to notice the green clad young man who stood watching him mistrustfully from the shadows.

oOo

After lunch, Sibella had decided that she had had enough.

Sibella read over what she had written on her parchment and tapped the tip of her quill against her bottom lip as she did so. The words were still wet and glistening on the page, elegant and beautifully formed. Her calligraphy had always been a source of pride for Sibella, who had found needlepoint dull and her musical instruments hard to master.

She had spent a long time mulling over the words she would put into the letter, the tone it would take and how best to get what she wanted in reply to it. It had been a particularly good idea of hers, she thought, to go straight to the source of the problem and then see what resolution would come from then on. She couldn't think why the thought hadn't come to her sooner.

'_Her Majesty, Queen Sibella Idiya of Hyrule sends her warmest salutations to His Grace Duke Phineas of Aratea…'_

_to be continued..._


End file.
